Lately I've been thinking a lot about simple appetizers and gifts from the kitchen. Maybe because it's the holidays. These sweet and spicy cashews fit the bill on both counts. To make things even better, they are super easy to prepare. Let's face it, it's a busy time. If you are throwing a holiday party and you're looking for something simple that you can say you prepared yourself, I suggest these sweet and spicy cashews. To make them, it's just a matter of cracking an egg, stirring in some maple syrup, tossing with the cashews, stirring some sugar and spices together, tossing it all together, and roasting in the oven for about 15 minutes. It doesn't get any easier than that.
And speaking of gifts from the kitchen, I think it's fun to both give and receive gifts from the kitchen. I have a few other recipes so far that would make great gifts: pumpkin pie fudge, maple shortbread cookies and rosette butter cookies. I enjoy making such recipes this time of year. Perhaps you do too. 🙂
Originally these were going to be maple bacon cashews. I did add bacon when I developed this recipe. To be honest, I could hardly taste the bacon and didn't think it added anything, except maybe calories. So I didn't include it in the recipe. If you would like to include it, simply fry up four strips of bacon. Once cooled, crumble the bacon and stir into your nut mixture. You will do this at the end, after your cashews come out of the oven.
I think you will really love these sweet & spicy cashews. I should warn you though, they are highly addictive! Enjoy!
Sweet and Spicy Cashews
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 egg white
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 cups cashews , raw or lightly salted
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar , firmly packed
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛-1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper , adjust depending on how much heat you want
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Stir in maple syrup, then stir in nuts.
- In a separate bowl stir together sugar, cinnamon, allspice, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Add the spice mixture to the nuts and toss to coat evenly.
- Spread the nuts in a single layer on prepared baking pan. Bake at 350°F (176°C) 15-20 minutes. Stirring occasionally to break up any clumps.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutritional information provided is for one serving and is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I really don't think I would be able to stop eating these cashews! GAH, they look so perfect and coated with amazing-ness! Sweet and spicy is the best for appetizers!
I'm glad that these kinds of appetizers are only made at my house at this time of year because I definitely can't stop eating them! Thanks, Sarah!
I love snacking on nuts so these sweet and spicy cashews are definitely something I will be making. Thanks for sharing the delicious idea!
Thanks so much, Rahul! I hope you like them!