Holiday Treats

Well, Mama & Squish have been prepping for Christmas!  I thought I'd share this recipe with you since I'm in the midst of my holiday baking/cooking prep and I was blown away by this one.

I made this sweet, salty, and spicy nut mix last night and they are to die for!  They are mostly sweet (almost like beer nuts, but way better).  I wouldn't add more salt to them, but if you wanted a bit more kick, I'd up the "generous pinch" of cayenne to maybe a teaspoon.

The recipe makes 1 lb of nuts.  I made 2 and I'm glad I did, because they are going to go FAST.  2 lbs of nuts fills about 6 regular-sized mason jars.  Make sure you don't go overboard on the water that you mix with the egg whites (don't eyeball it).  I used a little too much water in one batch and they turned out slightly stickier than the other (although still totally edible)!

Another bonus?  They took me about 5 minute to prep and only 30 minutes to bake.  Couldn't be simpler.

Here is the recipe:

1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper (could be substituted with 1/4 teaspoon of hot smoked paprika) - add more if you like it spicier
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound mixed nuts (I used walnut, pecans, almonds and cashews - leave the cheap peanuts out of this one!)
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix sugars, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon, making sure there are no lumps; set aside. Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add nuts and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

Enjoy!