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I have a good friend who used to bring a bowl of homemade glazed and roasted nuts to every party she attended. I would make sure to station myself near her vessel of nuts as soon as she placed them on the buffet, so to make sure I was able to gorge myself on those sweet, spicy, rosemary-flecked cashews, peanuts and pecans. Sadly, she moved out of state about a year ago, and so these days, if I want a taste of that flavor, I have to make it myself.
I think I've hit on something close to her recipe, melting together four tablespoons of butter with the same amount of maple syrup and then adding two tablespoons of recently dried, crushed rosemary (fresh is probably best, but I have a bunch from a friend's garden that I dried this summer so I've been trying to use it) and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
These gorgeous, deeply roasted nuts are sweet, crunchy, fragrant and have just a bit of a peppery kick. Once they cool, I'm planning on filling up a collection of canning jars and giving them to some of my co-workers (only the deserving ones!).
Spicy Sweet Rosemary Roasted Nuts
4 cups of raw nuts (I used peanuts and cashews tonight)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons real maple syrup
2 tablespoons crushed dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
In a large skillet, toast the nuts over medium heat, stirring occasionally so that they don't burn. In a small saucepan, melt butter and maple syrup together. Once melted, add rosemary and cayenne. When the nuts are toasted (when the vast majority have darkened spots), pour the butter mixture over the nuts and toss to coat. Spread the glazed nuts out on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet (makes for far easier clean up) and roast in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on your desired level of roast. The picture you see at the top of the post is after about 18 minutes in my oven.
When you take the nuts out of the oven, sprinkle the salt over the top, so that it adheres to the still-sticky nuts. I like to use the flaky Maldon sea salt for these nuts, but in a pinch, kosher will also do just fine.
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12-15-2008 @10:22PM RobynT said... Do you think it can be done without butter for the lactose intolerant? Or would that ruin it?
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12-15-2008 @10:24PM Marisa McClellan said... Robyn, I think you could use Smart Balance or some other spread like that in place of the butter. However, you do need some fat to make it work.
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12-15-2008 @10:33PM eric said... Hi Marisa (or anyone who can answer)...
Do these nuts need to be vacuum-sealed, ideally? And if that's not a possibility, how long will they stay fresh?
Eric.
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12-15-2008 @10:34PM Marisa McClellan said... Eric, most people don't have vacuum sealing capabilities, but I would recommend keeping them in a tightly sealing jar or zip top bag. Typically, they don't last long enough for it to become an issue.
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12-15-2008 @11:25PM eric said... Hahaha...thanks, Marisa.
That's actually precisely what I was thinking...I can't see them lasting more than eight hours, honestly, once my family rips into them.
I was just thinking that if their freshness degrades quickly, I should make them as close to Christmas day as possible...and I can really only prepare them this weekend, which will give them five days or so to sit, and consequently to (potentially) suffer.
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
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12-15-2008 @11:27PM Marisa McClellan said... Eric, you'd probably be okay making them four or five days ahead as long as you stored them in a air tight container and stashed them in the fridge until you were ready to eat them (nuts always last longer when refrigerated, as it keeps their unstable oils in check).
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12-16-2008 @9:41AM Michelle said... As soon as you Twittered about this, I thought this would be perfect to make for the gift exchange for my holiday work party I'm going to on Thursday. Thanks!
Would you recommend the nuts that are bought be unsalted, salted, roasted, unroasted, etc.? This sounds ridiculous but I'm not entire sure what a "raw" nut is.
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12-16-2008 @3:33AM Miriam said... I had just bought some raw cashews, Brazil nuts, and walnuts, thinking to flavor and toast them - really happy to have bumped into this blog and this recipe.
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12-16-2008 @9:46AM Marisa McClellan said... Michelle, raw means unroasted and unsalted. You want the very plain nuts so that they'll best be able to absorb and pick up the flavors you're putting on them.
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12-16-2008 @10:28AM Colin said... Haha "in a pinch".
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12-16-2008 @10:59AM leslie said... How much will already-roasted peanuts affect the flavor if used?
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12-16-2008 @11:00AM Marisa McClellan said... Colin, glad you picked up on that little joke. I giggled when I wrote it.
Leslie, you just have to be careful when you use already roasted nuts, as it will be a whole lot easier to burn the nuts and give them an acrid and unpleasant flavor.
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12-16-2008 @5:49PM Sally said... I made Giada's Toasted Cecchi, Almonds and Pistachios last year -- and I'll be making them again this year. The recipe used olive oil, so it could be used instead of butter. Obviously, a different taste.
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12-16-2008 @11:08PM alex said... For storing the nuts i freeze them in 2 zip top bags to keep the fat from picking up funny flavors.
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