this is my dad's recipe and, to me, the smell of these nuts baking was always the smell of christmas. it will permeate your whole house - and your clothes and your hair. for years, dad would spend a day making batch after batch after batch, and then packing them in clear plastic dixie cups and tying them up with saran wrap and red curling ribbon to give as christmas gifts to everyone. and after a couple years, people came to expect them, if not demand them. when i moved to dc, dad sent me a gallon ziplock of them for christmas. which was a huge deal - his oldest friends and family members were rationed to a little dixie cup.
so last year (well, christmas 2009 - i guess that's not actually last year any more), i tried making them for christmas - the first time anyone other than my dad had attempted it - and it was sortof a mess. first of all, it's not easy to read a recipe through your tears . . . so i doubled the first batch but failed to notice that dad had noted that you use 3 T, not 4 T of oil with a double batch. so they were way too oily. the second batch, i burned. a lot. i'm still not sure how. finally, with the third batch (third time's a charm!), i got some edible results . . .but they still didn't seem as good as dad's. i didn't even attempt them for christmas 2010, but i just made a batch tonight and i think they turned out well. maybe not as wonderful as i remember them, but they smell just right.
-n
so last year (well, christmas 2009 - i guess that's not actually last year any more), i tried making them for christmas - the first time anyone other than my dad had attempted it - and it was sortof a mess. first of all, it's not easy to read a recipe through your tears . . . so i doubled the first batch but failed to notice that dad had noted that you use 3 T, not 4 T of oil with a double batch. so they were way too oily. the second batch, i burned. a lot. i'm still not sure how. finally, with the third batch (third time's a charm!), i got some edible results . . .but they still didn't seem as good as dad's. i didn't even attempt them for christmas 2010, but i just made a batch tonight and i think they turned out well. maybe not as wonderful as i remember them, but they smell just right.
-n
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/1/6/3916068/8011661.jpg)
Mike's Spiced Holiday Nuts
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 T olive oil
2 c. shelled whole nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews or walnuts work best - or a mixture)
1 T kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat over to 325.
In a bowl, mix the cumin, chili powder, curry, garlic salt, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon.
Heal the oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the spice mixture and stir well. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to mellow the flavors.
Remove the spice mixture from the heat and add the nuts to the skillet. Toss well to coat the nuts.
Spread the nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.
Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Let rest for 2 hours in a cool place. Store in airtight jars or pack up as gifts.
Notes:
You can easily double this recipe, but use 3 T of olive oil (not 4) with the doubled recipe. Bigger recipes than doubled don't turn out as well.
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 T olive oil
2 c. shelled whole nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews or walnuts work best - or a mixture)
1 T kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat over to 325.
In a bowl, mix the cumin, chili powder, curry, garlic salt, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon.
Heal the oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the spice mixture and stir well. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to mellow the flavors.
Remove the spice mixture from the heat and add the nuts to the skillet. Toss well to coat the nuts.
Spread the nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.
Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Let rest for 2 hours in a cool place. Store in airtight jars or pack up as gifts.
Notes:
You can easily double this recipe, but use 3 T of olive oil (not 4) with the doubled recipe. Bigger recipes than doubled don't turn out as well.
For a wider audience (i.e. people who don't love spicy food), cut the cayenne