If you're thinking about making some Christmas food gifts this year, give these Sugar and Spice Nuts a try. They take only 15 minutes or so to make, and an hour or two to dry.And voila! A lovely gift you can put in your cute little crazy quilt jars, or bag up to include in a care package for those you won't be seeing this Christmas.
Thank you to author and editor Susan R. Blaske Williams for this oh-so-addicting recipe.
SUGAR AND SPICE NUTS
3 c. pecans (or walnuts or mixed nuts)
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. vanilla
Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet (or grease cookie sheet) and bake nuts at 275 degrees for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine sugar, water, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in saucepan and heat to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir in nuts to coat. With slotted spoon, remove nuts to wax paper, separating them as much as possible. Allow to dry for an hour or two, then package them up.
NOTE: If you're looking to make some homemade gifts this year, check out the Homemade Gift Carnival at Rachel's Cooking blog. And go visit Life as Mom, too, for more great food gift ideas.
I love candied nuts, they're good in so many things! I never thought of using them as gifts, that's a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteI love these nuts. I have a similiar recipe that I use every year :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think that those would make it as gifts but that would be lying. Those babies wouldn't last a day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. Its definitely added to my list.
~ingrid
Looks devine!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, good idea. Maybe I will make some of those for hubbies stocking!
ReplyDeleteLOVE these! They make the house smell so yummy. My grandma's recipe that I use is slightly different. You can find it here in the comments: http://www.lostinlaundry.com/2007/12/nutty-yummy-goodness.html
ReplyDeleteThese are fun to sprinkle on salads....because making healthy things unhealthy is sport in our house.
ReplyDeleteooooh, these would be a wonderful gift...for me!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try some of the nuts today, Lynn. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteSugar and Spice nuts?? I LOVE that name, lol. How cute to label those for a gift too!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to make these at Christmas and - yes- give them away. We called them "Spiced Pecans". Catchy, no?
ReplyDeleteThis year I decided to grow a brain and give Thanksgiving instead of Christmas goodies to all the neighbors. I've already made 15 mini-loaves of Pumpkin-Orange-Cranberry bread with another 10 to go. I'm going to put them in small, decorated brown paper bags with a tag that says "We're thankful you're our neighbors". Hmmmm, maybe I should blog about it? Ha!Ha!
Yum yum yum yum yum. Do you have any idea how much I love candy coated nuts like this?! Oh, wait. I was supposed to share these? (pulling a sad face here) oh, okay. I will. Just not all of them, grins.
ReplyDeleteIngrid, these nuts aren't lasting all that long around here, either. I'm thinking the best strategy is to make them only one day before it's time to give them away.
ReplyDeleteStarr, your grandma's recipe sounds good. Very similar.
Carpool Queen, I would never have thought to use these on salads. What a great idea.
I hope you like them, Sandra (addhumorandfaith).
ReplyDeleteKarenpie, what a sweet gift you're giving to your neighbors. I bet they'll love it.
And Katy, you only have to share if you want to.
These look good. I made some spiced nuts this week too. They are great for the holidays.
ReplyDeleteLove caramelized pecans and especially with a bit of spice!
ReplyDelete