This is one of the appetizers people were eating around the holidays in 1984, thirty-one years ago. The recipe was featured in Bon Appetit as part of an elegant Thanksgiving menu. I haven’t made these in a very long time but decided to make them again for New Year’s Eve. They’re wonderful. The glaze is sweet with a bit of a spicy bite provided by the cayenne.
Happy New Year to you all. Thank you for reading Blue Cayenne.
Recipe: Glazed Spiced Nuts
1/3 C. sugar
1/4 C. unsalted butter
1/4 C. fresh orange juice
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 t. gound cinnamon
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. ground mace
1 pound mixed unsalted nuts (such as pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, unblanched almonds, cashews)
Directions:
Heat sugar, butter, orange juice (I used clementine juice), salt, cinnamon, cayenne and mace in a large pan on the stove at low heat. Heat until butter and sugar melt, stirring often. Increase heat to medium and stir in nuts. Stir until nuts are thoroughly mixed with the sugar-butter-spice mixture.
Line a large cookie pan (one with sides) with aluminum foil and pour nut mixture into foil-lined pan. Spread the nuts so that they are on a single layer. Bake on the center rack in a preheated 250 degree F. oven for one hour. Stir nuts every fifteen minutes.
Remove from oven and pour nut mixture on a large sheet of foil and let nuts cool. Be sure to stir them with a fork to keep them from sticking together as they cool.
If you don’t eat these on the first day, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to five days. If they are sticky when you want to eat them, reheat at 250 degrees F. on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until crisp.
Cook’s Note: These nuts are wonderful stuffed in dates. They would be a great substitute for the plain walnuts called for in the “Best Dates in the Parade” recipe I posted recently. See the site category list.
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