Aw, nuts!
As in aw, nuts. As in I’m nutty. As in I’m nuts for you guys. As in… let’s just make these nuts already, eh?
Spicy, sweet, salty, and totally addictive, these nuts will become an instant necessity in your holiday food arsenal. You will dream about these. Years ago (and we won’t say how many because I might be having an aging crisis), a friend brought these to an event that I organized at the office*. Let’s just say that these didn’t make it past my desk to the buffet table. They stayed with me. And my friend wasn’t allowed to pass the desk until he jotted down the recipe for me. Because I’m just that kind of person.
*The aforementioned event -my brainchild- was “PigFest” wherein we spent each Friday in November bringing in dishes to pass with the express aim of expanding our stomachs to better hold the bounty that would be lain before us at upcoming holiday events. Who ever said advertising people were impractical?
Let’s talk about these nuts for a moment. You can serve them warm (kept that way in a little slow-cooker) or room temperature; either way has its advantages. You can change out the seasonings used to spice them up. You can ratchet up or scale back on the heat. You can swap out walnuts, cashews, peanuts, Brazil nuts or whatever floats your boat for the almonds. You can pour a bunch of the cooled nuts into a clean canning jar, wrap some ribbon or rafia around it and give it as a fabulous hostess gift. But what you can’t do is skip making these.
Now, we cook.
Aw, nuts.
Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning)
Recipe by Emeril Lagasse
- 2- 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Yield: about 2/3 cup
Spicy Cocktail Nuts and a Giveaway! (Updated)
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- 4 cups raw almonds ...or raw walnuts, pecans, or peanuts
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons Emeril's Essence or whichever spice blend you prefer..., recipe follows in notes
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and water until frothy. Add the nuts and toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, cayenne, and salt. Add to the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Spread the nuts on the prepared pan and bake until dry, about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to separate. Let cool on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
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Reader's Thoughts...
Angie says
These look great! I going to give them a try for the holidays. Simple and tasty, what could be better?!?
Amanda says
The nuts sound great! Thanks for hosting a give away!
Elle Hyson says
I am going to make spicey and sweet nuts for Thanksgiving – thanks for the recipe.
Mikell says
I love spicey nuts, and will be making this for my family for Thanksgiving.
Mindy says
I make spiced nuts fairly often! Just made delicious pumpkin pie spiced ones for my recent Hallowe’en murder mystery dinner party- that post will be up soon enough.
pfkovach says
Looks really good, thanks.
SuzieSunshine says
Looks yummy!
meeyeehere aka Rachel Crisman says
Terrific! I want some spicy nuts!!Those look so good!Just send me some okay?
kari says
Great recipes and a giveaway? You rock!
domestic diva says
Lovely! Thanks for the chance.
Tricia says
Love the blog….thanks for the recipes
Susan Zabritski says
Good looking nuts!
Christi P. says
What a great idea for co-workers gifts! We don’t do much, but I had already decided that I would try to make each of them something….this recipe will be it!!
Debbie Wenson says
Sounds fantastic. I’ve been looking for a good sweet/spicy nut recipe as I lost my recipe.
annie says
great snack, or great crushed in a pilaf! yum.
Llamabean says
I love the nuts recipe, thank you, can’t have too many spicy nut recipes :). Pigfest actually let me down a bit, I envisioned huge piles of bacon, but love the idea of “prepping” for the holiday meals.
Joanne says
Here’s my comment! I love your view of food and rules.
Jade says
I second Natalie! You did great and you should be proud!!
Jana says
Yum! (and Pigfest! What a great idea…mine starts after Halloween…all that candy!)
natalie (the sweets life) says
you absolutely should be proud! you did AWESOME!