I was (an secretly still am) a serious Spice Girls fan. Seriously, what's not to love? When they announced their comeback tour a few years ago I was almost dancing around the house to 'Spice up your life' in joy. Sadly, they couldn't stay together long enough to make it to Australia. Not to worry though. I still break out their songs every now and then and making these nuts had me spice-up-your-lifing all over the kitchen.
They're a delicious snack and so easy to make. I challenge you not to eat the whole batch of these before you give them away. They are oh so very moreish and you can vary the flavours to suit. A sweet version would be delicious too. This is yet another wonderful recipe from Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.
You probably think it was very un-frugal to buy the nuts in snack mixes but I compared the price of all the nuts in the supermarket and these were the least expensive by far. You can use whatever nuts you like. Mine were a combination of almonds, walnuts, cashews and Brazil nuts. Celia says you can mix up the spices as well but this is her most-favoured mix. I think I'll try out a sweet version next time.
Start by whisking the egg white in a large bowl until it starts to foam. Make sure that your bowl is big enough to fit the nuts and allow room for stirring. Mine was a little bit too small and I had a lot of nuts jump ship while I was trying to coat them in the spices.
Add the spices to the egg white and whisk them through.
Add the nuts to the bowl and then stir them until they are all covered in the spices. I didn't think there was going to be enough egg/spice mix to coat them all but after a bit of stirring they were all spiced up and ready to go.
Tip the nuts out onto a lined baking tray and spread them out into a single layer. I cut the baking paper a little bit bigger than the tray so it would make an edge around the nuts. I also did it so I wouldn't have to wash the tray afterwards. Don't use a tray with no sides to make these or you'll have nuts jumping all over the place when it's time to turn them (yes my other tray was flat - learn from my mistake).
Bake the nuts for 15 minutes at 160C fan-forced.
Take the tray out of the oven (leave the oven on) and use two forks to turn the nuts, un-stick them from the paper and break up any that are stuck together. Put them back in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until they turn golden.
When they come out of the oven check them to make sure all the clumps are broken up and then leave them to cool completely on the trays. Don't worry if they're still a little bit soft when they come out of the oven. They will firm up as they cool.
Package them up or bottle them up for later. The nuts will keep in an air-tight container for up to three weeks. Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g about 4 cups mixed nuts – I used a combination of walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews
- 1 egg white
- 25 g 1oz brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon Maldon or kosher salt flakes or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C (320F) fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper so it extends over the edges a little bit.
- Use a large bowl and whisk the egg whites until they start to froth (hint: make sure the bowl is big enough for all the nuts and room to stir!).
- Add the spices and whisk them through the egg white.
- Pour in the nuts and stir them around until they are all coated in spices. It doesn't seem like there's enough to coat them but keep stirring and they'll get there.
- Tip the nuts out onto the baking tray and spread them into a single layer.
- Bake the nuts for 15 minutes then take the tray out of the oven and turn the nuts, un-stick them from the paper and break up any clumps. I used two forks and that seemed to work well.
- Put them back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until they are nice and golden.
- Leave the nuts to cool on the tray. They might seem a little soft while they're still warm but when they cool down they will firm up. Celia suggests adding a bit of salt at this stage too.
- Stored in an air-tight container spiced nuts will keep for up to 3 weeks.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet says
I seriously need to start making my own spiced nuts! I pay ridiculous amounts at Nutshack and buying packets at the supermarket that it's truly a waste of money. And have you heard that roasted nuts aren't as healthy as raw nuts because of the fat content or something like that, but if you roast them yourselves you're able to control the temperature which is better for the nuts :)
Thanks for the recipe~
Claire says
Ooh no I didn't know that about roasted nuts. I thought it was because of the added fat from roasting them. I love that you can choose the flavourings when you make them yourself too.
Glamorous Glutton says
Great idea and they would make a lovely gift to take to a dinner party. GG
Claire says
If they make it there!
Celia says
Claire, you're sooo young, I'm still stuck on Dolly Parton and Abba! ;-)
Thank you for trying these out, I'm so chuffed you liked them! I must give credit where it's due though - the original recipe was from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame. I'd love to know of any new spice blends you come up with. And as you say, they're ridiculously moreish - I had to seal mine with the vac sealer at Christmas to make sure I had any left for gifts! :)
Claire says
I love Abba Celia! I had a teacher in grade 4 who was obsessed with them and of course I became obsessed too. She was the nicest lady!
The Café Sucré Farine says
Claire, this is a wonderful sounding recipe! Those spices with the brown sugar would be such a burst of delicious flavor - I would think that these would be extremely dangerous to have hanging around - iI would probably be sneaking one little handful after another after another............
Claire says
They are indeed. Nuts are so dangerous like that. You 'just have a few' and before you know it they're all gone.