Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Spiced Nuts (not sweet)

Here are a couple different recipes I use for spiced nuts. The preparation instructions are the same for both ingredient lists and you can choose to use EITHER the microwave instructions or the oven instructions.

I am allergic to almonds so I usually use pecans or walnuts, but you are free to use whatever whole nuts (or pecan/walnut halves) you wish.

Nuts that would work well include pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, and almonds. The nuts should be stored in an airtight container after they have cooled.

Ingredient list #1:

1/2 C butter
4 C nuts
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t garlic powder

Ingredient list #2:

1/2 C butter
4 C nuts
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Oven (my preferred method):

Preheat the oven to 300°. If you are unsure of the accuracy of your oven temperature, it is better to err on the side of a lower temperature than a higher temperature. You want the nuts toasted, but not too browned.

In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, melt the butter and stir in the Worcestershire Sauce and then the nuts until well-coated. Bake the nut mixture until it is toasted, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and sprinkle the mixture evenly with the dry ingredients. Toss until well mixed

Microwave:

In a 2-quart microwave safe dish (make sure it isn't too wide for your microwave), melt the butter and stir in nuts. Mix well and microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, and stir well to coat. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the nuts and stir again.

Note: Because microwaves have different power levels, make sure that you are keeping an eye on the mixture. If your microwave is a high-powered one, you may wish to lower the temp to a lower power setting. You don't want your spiced nuts to be overcooked (or even burned).

After nuts have cooled:

Store in a tightly sealed container. I usually put a folded paper towel in the bottom to absorb any extra butter.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Found you at #gno. Been looking for a recipe like this...thanks!

Karin said...

I'll be posting one or two candied nut recipes later this week. The candied ones are great to sprinkle over ice cream!