Maple Spiced Roast Nuts | Vegan|Gluten Free

Prepare for your house to smell like Christmas. These warmly spiced, roasted nuts are liberally seasoned with maple syrup and all your favourite holiday spices. Use your favourite combination of nuts and share with friends, give as gifts, or devour them while watching your favourite Christmas films.

Every Christmas Mum fills a big timber bowl with nuts in the shell, and throughout December we crack open our favourites (hazelnuts and almonds for me, walnuts for Mum, and Brazil nuts for Jess) as a quick snack or couch and TV dessert. Last year she also introduced a seductively spiced and sweetened roasted vanilla cashew mix into the house. Very dangerous. So dangerous that I had see if I could make them myself. I am happy to report that you can make delicious spiced nuts at home.

I made these nuts for a recent get-together with friends, and there were no leftovers to take home! I was happy to hear reviews from friends on the spot, and I just knew I had to share them with you all as we head into the holiday season. Not only are these nuts coated in holiday favourite flavours of maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg, they are also coated in raw sugar crystals for extra crunch, and just a kiss of salt to bring all the flavours together. Each bite is full of crackly salt and sugar glaze, spices, and the earthiness of roasted almonds and cashews.

A note about nuts: I used a combination of cashews and almonds, but you should use three cups of your favourite combination of nuts. Hazelnuts and almonds would be perfect with this mix of spices too. Just ensure that you choose nuts of a similar size so that they roast evenly. If you choose nuts of very different sizes (say pistachios and Brazil nuts) one nut will likely burn and the other will be undercooked.

This recipe couldn’t be any easier, which makes it a perfect time-saving gift or holiday snack. You warm the nuts in the oven and roll them in spices and maple syrup. The heat helps everything to absorb into the nut. After cooling your nut mix you sprinkle it with a final coating of salt and sugar and roast it for the final time. Your house will smell like Santa’s kitchen as the cinnamon and nutmeg start to dance with the heat. Mouth-watering territory.

I am planning on cooking up big batches of Maple Spiced Roast Nuts for Christmas gifts and party favours. Now that I know how easy (and addictive) these home made sweet, salty, spicy nuts are to make I can’t wait to try out some different flavours to share with my friends and family.

Maple Spiced Roast Nuts

Makes 3 cups | Vegan | Gluten Free

Note: you can use 3 cups of your favourite combination of nuts in place of the cashews and almonds if you wish.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted raw cashews
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted raw almonds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons raw sugar

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200C (400F) and line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil.
2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons raw sugar.
3. Spread nuts in one layer across the lined baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes.
4. Remove the nuts from the oven and place in mixing bowl along with the spices. Mix well to coat nuts.
5. Pour maple syrup over the nuts and mix again to coat nuts well in spices.
6. Spread nuts out in a single layer on the lined baking sheet again, pour over any maple syrup and spice mixture that may have pooled at the bottom, and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. Once nuts are cool, reheat oven to 200C (400F).
8. Sprinkle remaining salt and sugar over nuts and roast in oven for 10-12 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before breaking up and packaging for gifts, or storing for up to two weeks in an airtight container in a cool place.