Spiced Nuts Recipe

This stellar spiced nuts recipe is the product of my mom and me twiddling around in the kitchen with different spices, shelling bags of nuts, and precariously handling many hot pans in preparation for a Christmas Eve party at our house.

We actually made two variations of the basic recipe. My mom started out with a spicy version and I followed up with a sweet/savory version. They both turned out excellently and now we have plenty of personalized snack mixes to last us through the holidays.

Of course, any number and combination of spices can be mixed together to create your own homemade snacks so feel free to twiddle around in your own kitchen! These make perfect gifts for goody bags, guests, co-workers or just to have around the house.

Now, before we get too nutty, let’s get crackin’! (Get it? Haha...okay sorry.)

Spicy Spiced Nuts Recipe

This recipe combines some great aromatic spices like paprika and soy sauce; with a little kick from cayenne these spiced nuts go perfectly with a cold beer!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of nuts (We used 1 cup each of pecans, cashews and Spanish peanuts.)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (adjust if you’re using salted nuts already)
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Pour all ingredients into a bowl and toss until nuts are evenly coated.
  3. Put on a cookie sheet in one flat layer, bake for 18-20 minutes, turning/mixing them half way through.
  4. Take nuts out of the oven and allow to cool completely (they get crunchier as they cool). Store in an airtight container...that is, if there are any left of these addictive little buggers.

Cinnamon Sugar Spiced Nuts Recipe

This recipe could even substitute as a dessert. The cinnamon-sugar combo is irresistible in my mind. Be careful, though, they’re totally addictive too!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of nuts, you can use a combination or just pecans. Walnuts are great too.
  • 2 tablespoons of canola oil 
  • ¼ cup of brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
  • ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • ½ tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar for dusting
  • If using unsalted nuts, add about 1 teaspoon of salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Pour nuts into a large roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes total, but every 5 minutes shake the nuts so that they roast evenly.
  3. In a small sauce pan on the stove melt butter over low heat. Then add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, maple syrup and salt if using. Wisk together until consistent.
  4. Take nuts out of the oven and drizzle the spiced butter over them, stirring until all nuts are coated. Because of the higher sugar content in this recipe, the nuts will become very hard and sticky when they cool so after all nuts are coated, pour into a large mixing bowl and toss with ⅓ cup of granulated white sugar. Make sure they’re all dusted with the sugar to prevent sticking.
  5. Allow to cool completely then store in an air tight container.
  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Pour all ingredients except the white sugar into a bowl and toss until nuts are evenly coated.
  3. Put on a cookie sheet in one flat layer, bake for 18-20 minutes, turning/mixing them half way through.
  4. Because of the sugar in this recipe, the nuts will become hard and sticky when they cool so after you take them out of the oven, pour into a large mixing bowl and toss with the granulated white sugar. Make sure they’re all dusted with the sugar to prevent sticking (add more if needed).Store in an airtight container...once again, that is, if there are any left. ;)

I hope these two spiced nuts recipes bring some cheer to you and your guests!

Comments & Questions