These holiday spiced nuts are the perfect thing to make for holiday gatherings and parties. You can also just set them on a plate on a kitchen counter as a snack. Or put them in mason jars tied with ribbons and give them out as holiday gifts.
Nuts are a great snack, as they are very high in protein and rich in healthy fats. Nuts are vegetarian, vegan and paleo.
These holiday spiced nuts are even healthier, since they are soaked and dried. This makes them more digestible and more nutritious, since it reduces the enzyme inhibitors and anti-nutrients. However, is you're in a rush, no worries — soaking and drying are optional steps in this recipe.
Holiday Spiced Nuts
Ingredients
Assorted nuts — any blend of peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, Macadamia nuts, pecans or whole almonds (1 pound)
Sea salt (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)
Fresh rosemary (A few sprigs)
Cayenne (1/2 teaspoon)
Organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar (2 teaspoon)
Butter, grass-fed, or coconut oil (1-2 tablespoons)
Equipment
Mason jars
Baking sheet, stainless steel
Silpat if using aluminum baking sheet
Directions
1. Optional: Soak the nuts overnight (7-10 hours) in mason jars or sprouting jars full of filtered water with 1 tablespoon sea salt.
2. Optional: Dry the nuts in your dehydrator or in an oven on the lowest heat setting (ideally under 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours, until completely dry and crisp.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Set aside.
5. Chop rosemary, yielding about 2 tablespoons. Set aside.
6. Spread the soaked/dried nuts on a baking sheet. Toast until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Remove from oven.
7. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped rosemary, cayenne, sugar, 2 teaspoons sea salt, and the melted butter.
8. Toss the nuts with the butter mixture.
9. Serve warm or room temperature. (You can make this ahead and warm in oven before serving.)
Pin This Post: Holiday Spiced Nuts
Photo Credit for Holiday Spiced Nuts: Jax House on Flickr
We make spiced nuts in our home year-round. I make a fresh batch for when my husband has to travel and you never know how long you might be stuck on a plane.
This sounds good! I haven’t soaked nuts before – will have to try it. My oven only goes down to 170, so hopefully I won’t burn the nuts…
No, they won’t burn. They just won’t retain all the enzymes, but if they are not raw they won’t have them anyway.
Good luck!
If you are going to toast at 350 anyway, why bother dehydrating at a low temp for so long? Just wondering what your thinking is on this one. But I can”t make things like this at home anyway because I eat the entire thing. :)
I was about to post the same thing, Julie. And I’d probably eat the whole thing as well!
You soak the nuts to remove the skin where the anti-nutrients are (someone correct me if I’m wrong here), and dehydrate them to remove the water. If you don’t remove all the water, the nuts will mold (experience…oops!). Roasting them at 350 is just that. It doesn’t remove the water, but turns them a beautiful golden color and a great taste. The nuts won’t dehydrate at 350 in 10 minutes.
Thank you for posting this, as it gives me another idea for possible Yule gifts for people. I’m also wondering about the dehydrating with them going in the oven, though I imagine I’d do it anyway because I think the nuts simply taste better after the process.
YUM!!! I will certainly try this!