Spiced Candied Cashews

So you know when you walk by those Nuts 4 Nuts carts in Manhattan and they smell so amazingly good that you finally cave in and buy them, only to realized that you wasted two dollars on something that smells 1000 times better than it tastes? Why do they not taste like they smell? I decided to take matters into my own hands. These subtly spiced candied cashews made my apartment smell amazing and they made my taste buds happy. Take that, nuts that you buy from a cart on the street (when you put it that way, I’m not so surprised…)!

I had all of these leftover cashews from when I made cashew chicken. I also wanted something to munch on. These candied cashews come together so quickly and easily (maybe 15 minutes), as long as you have cashews around, you’re good to go. Or else try them with other nuts. They’re very similar to the peanuts that Jessica made, but I played around with the spices and the sugars.

Candied Cashews

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups raw unsalted cashews
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment  paper.
  2. Mix the spices together.
  3. In a large skillet over high heat, mix the nuts, sugar and water. Stir frequently and bring to a boil. Continue stirring; the liquid should evaporate and turn into a syrupy consistency. This should take about 10 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle the spices over the nuts and stir vigorously, letting the water completely evaporate, for about 4 minutes.
  5. Turn off the heat and continue stirring until the nuts are coated in the crystallized sugar.
  6. Carefully pour the nuts out onto the baking sheet to let cool.