Warning: These are addictive. Proceed at your own risk.
This post is for Karen. As I was snacking on these at work, I tweeted about it and she asked for the recipe. I can't take credit for the idea. My boss' wife, who is an excellent cook, sent a version of mixed nuts roasted with maple syrup, and fresh rosemary, thyme and sage to the office, which made me want to experiment.
I consulted How to Cook Everything for the appropriate oven temperature, but the rest was guesswork.
You'll need:
- 2 cups various whole (shelled) nuts, more or less - I used 1 cup almonds and 1/2 cup each walnuts and cashews
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- A few sprigs fresh herbs, finely chopped - I used 1 large sprig of rosemary from the back yard (stem removed)
- Sea salt - just a sprinkle - I used about a teaspoon
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray with non-stick spray (may have been overkill, but I didn't want them to stick!). You'll want to use a cookie sheet with sides, so the nuts don't fall off the edges.
Mix the nuts, syrup, herbs and sea salt in a bowl. Spread on prepared cookie sheet in a single layer, more or less.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until nuts begin to brown, stirring with a spatula about every 5 minutes.
I was too busy eating these warm from the oven to take a photo, but here are the snack bags I made up for this week. You could, of course, make these in larger batches, but that would reduce opportunities for eating them fresh from the oven. Enjoy!