Did you know California accounts for about half of the nation’s nuts? (Yeah go on, have a giggle with the double entendre…) And tree nuts are the number one export for our Golden State. A short drive outside of our Bay Area urban neighborhoods will plop you into any number of nut tree orchards, so it’s small wonder there are plenty of varieties and options of “new crop” nuts currently available at our local farmers’ markets.
As it turns out, almonds are the top valued crop in California. Yes, they overtook grapes a couple years ago! Following almonds, walnuts and pecans are most popular. So this recipe features the Top Three placers. (I’m also partial to pistachios, which are also prolific in our area.)
All this is a wind-up to an easy and rewarding preparation that’s perfect for the season to enjoy at home or as a much appreciated hostess or holiday gift. Really, it’s dead simple to prepare. I’m often asked for the recipe and after seeing it reposted recently by David Lebovitz, I figured it was time to spread the joy.
If you’ve been following my posts for a while, you know what comes next: I hope you’ll make this your own! Top of mind variations include taking this in a South-of-the-Border direction with ground ancho, guajillo or dried chipotle chiles and finely grated lime zest added to the mix; or take a curry twist with the cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ground ginger and coriander. Well, you get the idea…
And of course, follow Lebovitz’ original version and add pretzels or other crunchy bites. I look forward to learning of your versions!
Advance Tips:
- By all means, taste the nuts for freshness before proceeding with the recipe. The high fat content in nuts makes them susceptible to rancidity. This is especially important if you are purchasing nuts from pretty much any place other than the farmers market. There is no amount of spice that can mask the unpleasant taste of nuts gone off.
- Store nuts in the freezer to keep them fresh longer.
Spicy Sweet Glazed Nuts
Adapted from David Lebovitz, The Sweet Life in Paris
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups mixed, raw nuts; any combination of whole almonds, walnut halves, pecan halves, whole hazelnuts, whole cashews, etc.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/ 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/ 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/ 4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-1/ 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Spread the nuts on the lined baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, stirring once for even toasting.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, salt and maple syrup.
- Add the warm nuts and salt, stirring until they are evenly coated.
- Spread the mixture back onto the lined baking sheet and return to the oven for 12 – 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. Remove from oven and cool completely, separating the nuts as they cool.
- Once cool, the nuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week. Good luck with that!
Note: Do not fail to line the baking sheet; otherwise you will have a heavy task in chiseling off the baked on, caramelized spices.
