Caramelized Sugar & Spice Nuts--Fab Party Fare
Author: Nancy Baggett
Simple yet extraordinarily tasty describes these can’t-eat-just-one treats. Serve them as cocktail or party nibbles, or on a dessert, fruit, or cheese tray. You can also package them prettily for a fine holiday or hostess gift. You can salt the nuts lightly just to bring out their flavor, or for a noticeably salty-sweet taste, garnish them with more sea salt after coating them with the caramelized sugar. Note that if you happen to have dried culinary lavender buds on hand you can create even more flavorful caramelized pecans or other nuts. Yes, the lavender is optional, but it is just delectable if you're readying pecans.
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar ( or ¾ cup granulated sugar ground in a processor with 1 teaspoon dried culinary buds lavender buds)
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon each ground allspice and ground cinnamon, to taste
  • ½ teaspoon ground culinary lavender buds, optional
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine flake sea salt, plus optional generous ¼ teaspoon more for garnish if desired
  • 2 to 3 pinches ground cayenne pepper, optional
  • 3 cups unsalted pecans, walnuts , cashew halves, or large peanuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Stir together the sugar, allspice, cinnamon, lavender (if using), ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, and cayenne pepper, if using, in a 12- to 13- inch stove-top and oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar starts to melt, usually in 2 minutes. Continuously stir and scrape the sugar into a pool until most is melted; do not touch or splash it as it is extremely hot.
  3. Add the nuts into the melting sugar, stirring until they are all lightly coated, about 2 minutes. If at any point the pan smokes or the sugar smells burned lift the pan from the burner, stirring off the heat for a few seconds, then continue.
  4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Sprinkle the garnishing salt over the nuts, if using, stirring to distribute evenly.
  5. Immediately transfer the skillet to the middle oven rack. Roast the nuts, stopping and stirring every 3 or 4 minutes, until nicely browned and fragrant, but not burned, about 6 to 8 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven. With table forks separate any clumps of nuts; don’t touch as they are extremely hot. Let the nuts cool completely, then break up any clumps with your hands.
  7. Pack airtight. Store in a cool dry spot up to 2 weeks or refrigerate up to a month. Serve at room temperature. Makes about 3½ cups caramelized sugar & spice nuts.
Recipe by KitchenLane at http://kitchenlane.com/2015/12/caramelizedsugarspicenuts.html