mix, mix…stir, stir

Spicy, crunchy, sweet, and glistening like little gem stones. How can you not want to nibble on these? It may not seem like the appropriate time of year to be focusing on candied nuts, but if you think salads and desserts rather than holiday parties and hostess gifts, spiced candied nuts have limitless possibilities all year long.

They are happy companions with a roasted beet or spring greens salad, and they make any cheese platter sparkle. As a garnish on anything chocolate, they work. I was making a peanut butter tort today and rather than folding in naked peanuts, I used spiced candied peanuts for a nice added layer of flavor and interest. The candy coating sort of melted off into the surrounding mousse, quite reminiscent of the melt-ring around the toffee bits in butter brickle ice cream, and I can tell you these nuts will be going in my next batch of ice cream!

Though still perfect to serve at a cocktail party, and always a thoughtful hostess gift, don’t limit yourself – go candy some nuts!

Spiced Candied Nuts
I experimented with various sweet coatings and settled on maple syrup because it not only adds a nice flavor but it creates a crunchy rather than sticky coating. Using primarily whole spices and infusing the flavor makes for a clearer candy coating and a smoother flavor.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2-3 inch long cinnamon stick (cassia or true cinnamon)
2-3 mace blades or 4 whole cloves
24 allspice berries
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
16 black peppercorns, whole
2 dried spicy chiles such as de arbol, or pequin, or Japanese
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all the spices, except the salt and paprika, in a mortar and pestle and crush them just enough to break them up into large pieces. You can also accomplish this by putting the spices in a plastic bag and crushing them with a rolling pin or mallet. 

Heat the oil in a small saute pan over low heat and add all of the spices except the salt. Simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally than remove from the heat and let the spices infuse into the oil for 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Over a low heat bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, let it boil for 5 minutes.

Pile the toasted nuts in the center of a rimmed baking sheet. Strain the spices out of the syrup and pour the syrup over the nuts. Toss to coat and spread the nuts out in a single layer. Place the nuts in the oven and set a timer for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the nuts and stir them to re-coat with syrup. Repeat the 3 minute baking/stirring cycle three more times so they bake for a total of 12 minutes.

Place a sheet of parchment or a silpat on a cooling rack. After removing the nuts from the oven for the final time, stir them to re-coat and scoop them onto the parchment to cool. Using a spatula spread the nuts out and work to separate them. As they begin to cool keep breaking apart any nuts that are clumped or touching. Once cool store in an airtight container.