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.