Rosemary Spiced Nuts
Warm mixed nuts tossed with brown butter, rosemary, and a touch of cayenne
- 2 cupsmixed nuts(almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews)
- 3 tbspunsalted butter
- 2 tbspfresh rosemary(finely chopped)
- 2 tbspbrown sugar
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 0.25 tspcayenne pepper
- 0.5 tspsmoked paprika
Store in airtight container up to 2 weeks. Re-crisp in 300°F oven for 5 minutes if needed.
- 1Preheat oven to 325°F and line baking sheet with parchment
- 2Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat
- 3Continue cooking until butter turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 3 minutes
- 4Remove from heat and stir in rosemary, brown sugar, salt, cayenne, and paprika
- 5Toss nuts in brown butter mixture until evenly coated
- 6Spread in single layer on prepared baking sheet
- 7Bake 15-18 minutes, stirring halfway, until fragrant and toasted
- 8Cool completely on pan - nuts will crisp as they cool
- 9Break apart any clumps before serving
Watch butter carefully - it goes from brown to burnt quickly. Fresh rosemary is essential; dried won't release its oils properly. Cool completely before serving or storing. The nuts will seem soft when hot but crisp as they cool. Customize spice level to taste.
Spiced nuts have been served at social gatherings since at least the Victorian era in Britain and America, when spiced and sugared nuts were common gifts and confections at holiday gatherings. The combination of nuts with warm spices — cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves — has roots in Arab and North African cooking traditions that spread through medieval Europe via the spice trade; the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula (711–1492 CE) and Arab control of the Eastern Mediterranean spice routes established warm spice combinations in European cooking from the 12th century onward. Rosemary's addition as a herb component to savory spiced nuts is a specifically modern American approach, documented in American restaurant and catering menus from the late 1990s onward, where the piney, aromatic character of rosemary became fashionable as a complement to sweet-salt combinations. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, and cashews each carry different botanical origins and histories: pecans are the only major tree nut native to North America; almonds originated in Central Asia; walnuts in Central Asia and the Himalayas; cashews in northeastern Brazil. The warm, fragrant nature of freshly spiced nuts — their aroma released by heat — makes them one of the most instinctively appealing bar snacks, encouraging guests to drink and stay.