A long time ago I shared one of my entertaining secrets with House & Home magazine for a holiday feature. Almost a decade later, my spiced nuts remain a popular online recipe during the holidays. They are easy to prepare, impossible to resist, and make a great homemade gourmet gift when packaged in an airtight jar with a pretty tag. In other words, no holiday is complete without them.
I’ve plucked this recipe from my new book At Home: Sarah Style to share with you here, in hopes that you’ll whip up this delectable nut medley and share them with family and friends. Keep reading for details on how to make, package and label your own jars of Unforgettable Spiced Nuts!
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 Cup Demerara Sugar
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Cup Raw Whole Almonds
1 Cup Pecan Halves
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Stir the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and demerara sugar together in a frying pan or saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. Sprinkle in the cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt and mix well.
4. Add the almonds and pecans, stir to coat, then cook until the mixture becomes sticky, about 5 minutes.
5. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crunchy.
6. Let cool and serve at room temperature. The spiced nuts will keep for a few weeks in an airtight container.
Makes 2 cups
Jars & Labels:
Now that you've made the Unforgettable Spiced Nuts, it's time to make them look just as good as they taste! Present them in clear glass jars with airtight lids. You can buy the exact jars I used at Canadian Tire for cheap, or you can typically find them at craft supply stores, grocery stores or bix box stores. To make the labels, I used Avery Glossy White Round Labels from Staples. Visit Avery's website to use their online template label maker to easily customize and print directly onto your label sheets. Search for template #22807 categorized under 'Speciality Shapes'. There are so many fun label designs to choose from, you'll have a blast picking your favourite!
Wrap a pretty ribbon around your newly labelled jars of nuts and you've got yourself unforgettable gourmet gifts ready for giving!
