Thanksgiving Spiced Nuts

What you’re reading now?
This is Renegade Kitchen’s first Remix.
Yeah.

See, we took our original Spiced Nutsand dressed them up for the holiday season.
Because you can never have enough snacks, especially guests guests guests during the winter months.

So, what’s different? 
We popped up our regular recipe with extra paprika and some dried fruit to make the mixture spicy and sweet, just like Santa and Mrs. Claus.

To be honest though, the inspiration for this new blend was not the holidays-
It was a special ingredient.
About a month ago we found a display of whole candied oranges and lemons at the Park Slope Food Coop. It was love at first site.

Make no mistakes, this was full on sappy syrupy sweet puppy love.
How could we not buy 7 (or 8)?

The oranges are bright orange (duh), glistening with sugar, sticky and chewy-
Obviously the perfect foil to a spicy roasted nut mix.

Now, we know you may not be able to find these (they’re rare, like unicorns and manatees), but if you want to make some of your own, check out this recipe from Saveur.

But really, we know that isn’t the most practical solution.  
We tested and retested to bring you a mix that had just as much punch as the original with ingredients you can find. Instead of candied oranges? Orange zest.

Make a huge batch, set them up in little bowls around your house and watch your guests scurry and cluster around the snacks. Yep, we’re not that different from mice after all.

It’s always the little touches at a house party that put the final gems in your hosting crown. Renegade Kitchen Holiday Spiced Nuts? A freaking diamond for your tiara.

Rule On, Party Queens and Kings.

Free of Gluten, Dairy, Processed Sugar, Corn and Soy

  • 3 pounds raw mixed nuts (we used almonds, walnuts, pecans and cashews)
  • 3 cups Pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
  • 3 Egg Whites
  • 1 bunch Thyme, chopped (~3 tbs. chopped)
  • Zest of 2-3 Oranges (2-3 tbs.)
  • 5 tablespoons Paprika (smoked, sweet or spicy!)
  • 2 tablespoons Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Onion Powder
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
  • 3 Shallots, minced
  • 1/2 cup Sesame Seeds
  • ~2 cups Dried Cranberries (~8 oz.)

Get Busy

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix the nuts and pepitas together in a large bowl and spread them over two large cookie sheets.
  3. Slide the trays into the oven and roast the nuts for 10-15 minutes, or until they are lightly toasted and fragrant.
  4. When the nuts are finished with their first roasting, drop the oven temperature down to 250 degrees.
  5. While the nuts are roasting (the first time), prepare the coating. In the bottom of a large bowl(you’ll be using this later to toss the nuts), whisk the egg whites until they are just frothy, no need make stiff or even soft peaks, just give them a bit of a whiz with a whisk.
  6. Stir in all the dried spices, salt, pepper, thyme and orange zest, and whisk to combine.
  7. Pour in the nuts, shallots, sesame seeds and dried cranberries and stir everything to combine. Use a couple of big spatulas or spoons and really dig under the nuts to stir up all the coating from the bottom.
  8. Once everything is evenly coated, spread then uts back out onto the cookie sheets and slide them back into the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until they look dry. The nuts will still be warm and a bit sticky when they come out of the oven but this will all solidify as they cool.
  9. Once the nuts are cool, break them up with clean hands and/or a spoon and set them out for your guests to devour!

Yield: 3 lbs. roasted Nuts
Prep. Time: ~15 minutes
Roasting Time: ~1 hour 15 minutes