Every time I make these nuts or give them as a gift, once they are put out for guests, they are gone within the hour, not to mention that a good amount got eaten before they even made it into the gift container. They are literally so easy and come together in 30 min. including prep and cooling time, if you have all your ingredients on hand. THIS RECIPE CAN BE IMPROVISED to use any spices you have on hand and any types of nuts in your pantry. Mix and match both, but know that whatever the combinations, which are endless, the end result is FABULOSA!
OK, so put an egg white and 1 tsp. of water in a bowl, I use my stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer. Mix on medium speed until mixture gets frothy. Mix all spices and sugar in a separate bowl and add to egg white mixture once frothy. Stir using a spatula until well incorporated.
Now measure out all your nuts, I just use my prepared baking sheet with parchment and then the parchment can be used as a funnel to pour the nuts into the wet mixture you just prepared.
Once nuts are completely covered in egg white/spice mixture, pour back onto the prepared cookie sheet with parchment. Place in the preheated 350 deg oven on middle rack for 10 minutes. Take this time to prepare another piece of clean parchment paper on your counter, this will be used for the nuts to cool. Take out of oven and quickly give all the nuts a turn with a metal spatula to again moisten all the nuts and redistribute the egg/spice mixture. Return to oven having turned your pan 180 deg to ensure even cooking.
After another EXACTLY 10 min remove from oven and using the metal spatula again, transfer nuts to a clean parchment liner on the counter to cool completely. Working quickly here is important to ensure you transfer most of the spicy gooey goodness along with the nuts. The photo on the left shows nuts removed from parchment seen in photo on right. There will be some residual mixture that will dry as you are transferring the nuts. Let cool for about 15 min. to harden and form a nice crust.
OMG!!!! SOOOOOO GOOD!
Please post comments with any modifications or variations, as the possibilities are endless……….
great for snacking, cocktails, to top salads and stir frys
- 4 cups whole roasted, salted almonds or mixed nuts
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp water
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cardamom may substitute cinnamon with a dash of black pepper or nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper add more for more kick, less for mild spice
- toasted sesame seeds, optional ***
- *** indicates change since original posting
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees
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Prepare cookie sheet or 13x9 casserole dish with parchment and butter entire surface with a light coating. Prepare a 2nd piece of parchment on a cookie sheet or just on the counter to be used when the nuts come out of the oven to cool. No need to butter this surface.
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Measure choice of nuts and set aside
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Mix egg white with water until mixture becomes somewhat frothy but not so much that you get any type of peaking.
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Mix all dry ingredients and stir into egg white mixture using spatula. Mix until all dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
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Add nuts to wet mixture, as prepared in previous step, using spatula to ensure all nuts are coated.
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Pour onto prepared cookie sheet/casserole dish from step 2 and press out into a single layer. Place in oven on middle rack.
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Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds to cover nuts using as much as you desire, if using.
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Bake for 10 min. EXACTLY, turn pan 180 degrees in oven to ensure even baking, and using a flat metal spatula give the nuts a turn to ensure all nuts are covered in spice mixture.
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Bake for another 10 min. EXACTLY and remove from oven.
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Working quickly, use metal spatula to transfer the nuts to a clean piece of parchment to allow nuts to cool completely, becoming nice and crunchy!
- Any type of nut combination can be used. I have used macadamia, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans.
- To save time, I buy roasted and salted nuts but you can use raw nuts and roast them in a 350 deg oven for approx 10-15 minutes to get a nice light brown roasted color prior adding to spice mixture.
- The image shows a version I made where I sprinkled sesame seeds on the nut mixture just before putting them into the oven. You can also add with other nuts when incorporating into the egg white mixture. Adds a nice flavor and looks more festive.
- You may also add cranberries to your spice mixture which has worked well. Just be sure to keep the wet/dry proportion to ensure there is enough to coat all dry ingredients.
