Skip to main content

Sweet Spiced Nuts

These glossy, burnished, not-too-sweet and not-too-spicy nuts are irresistible. With fresh or dried fruit, they make an elegant dessert. Or add to one of our Fruit & Cheese Plates. A great little something to snack on, too—we like to keep them around to nibble on when supper is a little late. They keep for up to a month.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    yields 3 cups

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne (optional)
3 cups shelled nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously oil a baking sheet.

    Step 2

    In a saucepan on medium-high heat, stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup of water, salt, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir constantly for a minute, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the nuts and mix well to evenly coat them with the syrup. Remove the coated nuts with a slotted spoon and spread them out on the prepared baking sheet.

    Step 3

    Bake until browned, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once after 5 or 6 minutes. After you’ve taken them out of the oven, stir again to break apart any clusters. Allow the nuts to cool before serving.

Cover of the cookbook Moosewood Simple Suppers with a red floral motif.
From Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table. Copyright © 2017 by Moosewood Collective. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. Buy the full book from ThriftBooks or Amazon.
Read More
Like banana pudding cake and beer can chicken.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
No grill needed for this just-charred-enough sweet and spicy chicken.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
Assembled right in the skillet, no bowls needed.
Like swordfish steaks with tomatoes and Peruvian-style tofu.
Loosely inspired by pasta Amatriciana, a few pounds of zucchini stand in for tomatoes.
Stir-frying slices makes this dinner doable on any given night.