By Abby Thompson
You know how sometimes you’re thinking all “Hey! I want to make [insert incredible recipe you saw on Pinterest/Facebook/Favorite Food Blog], because it looks amazingly scrumptious and I’ve been wanting it since I laid eyes on it”. But your cabinets are all “Ha, no! That bag of [mystery ingredient here] got swallowed into the abyss of Dark Cabinet Land, so. no.” I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve gone to the cabinet and an essential, yet missing, ingredient has gone rouge somehow.
Good news! These spicy + sweet nuts can be made regardless of the ingredient stealing cabinet monster. These crunchy morsels only take a few ingredients, and simple (minimal!) preparation.
Bad news, they are really easy to just nibble on and before you know it, whoops! Half the pan is gone. Just like the Halloween candy that you were supposed to save for the trick-or-treaters, buuuut who would notice if you didn’t turn the porch light on and ate the good candy anyway?
This recipe can be modified and flipped up so many ways that it’s just crazy. The nuts/sugar mixture has an almost brittle-like texture, but not quite as hard, while also acting like a nut bark at the same time. This means this recipe is completely versatile according to what you have on hand. Throw in some salty pretzels, M and Ms, popcorn, anything that won’t melt under the heat of the baking would be a perfect addition.
Sugar and Spice Nuts
3 cups mixed nuts, any kind you have (I used peanuts, walnuts, and almonds)
1 flax egg (or 1 egg white)
1 tbs. orange juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbs. grated orange peel
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice1/2 tsp. ginger
Method
- Combine nuts and spices in large bowl, set aside.
- Whisk together egg (flax or egg white), orange juice, orange peel, and sugar in separate bowl.
- Mix egg and sugar mixture in well with nut mixture. Spread in rimmed cookie sheet or 15×10 pan.
- Bake at 275 for 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The mixture may not be crispy at this point, but once it has been removed from oven and cooled the mixture will harden.
- Cool and store in airtight container for up to a week.
Photography copyright of Abby Thompson.
Follow Abby's blog, 'The Frosted Vegan' for more delicious recipes like this.
