Candied Cocktail Nuts | 12 Days of Holiday Baking

A dish of candied cocktail nuts is a must to serve with drinks or as snacks for the holidays season. Make a big batch, put the nuts in jars and they’ll make fantastic handmade food gifts. For gifting, there are several recipes and a lavender marcona almonds we like. However, Dorie’s recipe here has great appeal and is quicker to put together. Using a baking sheet and saucepan and very little efforts, you get stunning results. It’s a keeper for sure.

Ingredients and Methods

• For the ingredients, you have mixed nuts, fresh herbs, butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, sea salt, cinnamon or cayenne pepper (optional). You need a tablespoon of each. Then spread out about 1/2 pounds of mixed nuts, such as whole almonds, hazel nuts, cashews, walnuts or pecans on a baking sheet. Together with sprigs of fresh thyme, roast the nuts for about 5 minutes at 350°F.
• Meanwhile, warm butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and sea salt in a medium saucepan on the stovetop. Add the roasted nuts in the smooth syrupy mix, stirring for a few minutes until they are coated throughout. Finally, return the nuts to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until they are golden browned.

All the ingredients and the process are covered in about 100 words. It doesn’t get more economical than that. However, there are still room for creativity. For example, I have a good harvest of lavender this summer. I put lavender together with fresh thyme for the aroma that’s reminiscent of France. Dorie also suggests going for something exotic. Think curry powder, smoked paprika, ras el hanout or garam masala. The talk of these spices gets my creative juice going. Who says holiday tradition can’t be more exuberant!