I come bearing my two favorite cocktail nuts recipes. Both are sweet and spiced, share part of the ingredients, are incredibly easy to make and can be more or less hot according to your taste! Any nut can be used, they are ready to eat in less than an hour and last several days.
These recipes are super easy to make, of course, so they can a last-minute addition to your holiday table or a buffet. Just in case you think you need one more thing on your list.
We serve them every year together with these flavored olives and baked ricotta with olive oil crackers.
We're sharing two recipes that start the same way but have different spices. So you can make a large batch, divide it in half and flavor each slightly differently.
What nuts can you use?
Any type you like! It's a great recipe for using those last handfuls left in the packets.
- Walnuts and almonds: this is one of my favorite combinations when it comes to cocktail nuts and we use them for one of our recipes.
- Sweet and spiced pecans: the eternal favorite, creaminess and crunchy with that unique flavor we all love. We use them alone for the second recipe.
These two recipes are very similar.
And great when you have leftover egg whites!
The first one is the old reliable favorite I made constantly. Not only for Christmas and New Year's but for everyday snacking also.
The second one, a variation, came to be when I ran out of two of the ingredients and had to improvise. It turned out amazing!
So I started alternating between both, depending on the hotness I wanted in my nuts. Because one has cayenne pepper, and that always comes with a lot of heat attached.
Ingredient list
These sweet and spicy nuts are made with simple ingredients. Give or take.
- Nuts: my favorites are pecans, walnuts, and almonds. I used pecans for the process shots for this post, but some images have walnuts and almonds. They all work wonderfully.
- Sweet part: I use regular granulated sugar. But you can use any type you like. Brown sugar works well and adds a caramel undertone. If you use coconut sugar or muscovado, consider that they don't sweeten as much as white does.
- Spiced part: the recipe with cayenne pepper is spicier than the other. This spice can be very hot, so consider that; you may want to start small the first time you make them. And then the paprika can be sweet paprika, hot, or smoked paprika. We use a mix of smoked and hot paprika.
How to make sweet spiced nuts
Grab a bowl, a fork or whisk, and a spatula.
Lightly beat egg yolk with sugar until foamy (image 1). You can use an electric beater if you want and beat until beginning to form peaks.
Add all spiced and mix (image 2). It will be a reddish-brown, quite ugly color if you ask me.
Add pecans (or whatever nuts you're using) and mix well (images 3, 4).
Line a baking sheet with aluminum paper if you want. I always do this to avoid having to clean the baking sheet.
Spread the nut mixture with the spatula (image 5). Try not to overlap them so they bake better and don't clump.
Bake as directed and stir them after 5 minutes in the oven (image 6). This is important for them to bake as evenly as possible. Do this carefully and try not to tear the paper.
When done, remove the pan from the oven and move the nuts around carefully with a spatula so they cool down without sticking to the aluminum paper.
Sweet and spiced nuts are a great idea as an appetizer for a party, a gathering, or a buffet table. Even a picnic if you ask me.
They keep well and are ready so fast that it really is a savior recipe when it comes to celebrations!
Related recipes you might like:
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Sweet Spiced Cocktail Nuts (2 recipes)
Two easy sweet and spicy cocktail nuts recipes! Easy, any nut can be used, are ready to eat in less than an hour, and last several days. The recipes are for 1 egg white, so you can double, triple, or multiply it at will.
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients
For both:
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups nuts of choice
Recipe 1:
- Dash to ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Recipe 2:
- ½ teaspoon ground chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF /180ºC.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum paper. Reserve.
- In a bowl lightly beat egg white with sugar and salt until thick and foamy, about 1 minute with a fork or whisk.
- Add paprika and extra ingredients depending on what recipe you're making (recipe 1 or 2, above).
- Add nuts and mix until well coated.
- Spread on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove, stir the nuts with a spatula being careful not to tear the paper, and return to the oven 10-15 more minutes, stirring once more before they're done.
- Remove from oven and immediately stir again so they don't stick while cooling down.
- Let cool completely and store in airtight containers.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: International
Keywords: cocktail nuts
Tami Price says
This was perfect for gifts for my co-workers! Made Christmas jars with this recipe and passed them out as gifts! They were a huge hit! Thanks so much for sharing!
David says
Mmm, thinking this would be perfect to nibble on with a glass of bubbly on New Year's!
angiesrecipes says
That's how I made my sweet cinnamony nuts too. Merry Christmas, Paula.