I don’t know about you but for me the holidays are absolutely, hands-down, no-doubt-about-it my favorite time of year! There’s truly nothing quite like stuffing myself so much on Thanksgiving that I have to go upstairs and change into pants that have an elastic waist band…in order to continue stuffing myself with food (#noshame). There’s also nothing quite like driving around town to see various Christmas lights and sipping on hot cocoa by the fire with your closest family and friends. I truly just love every single thing about the holiday season!
With the holidays approaching, I can’t help but want to fill my house with the smell of cinnamon, warmth, and happiness. And these cinnamon roasted nuts do just that! When I was younger, there was a store that my dad and I would always go to around the holiday season (late November to early January) and they would always have this stand in the store with fresh-roasted, sweet cinnamon nuts and the minute I walked in, the fragrant scent of sugar, cinnamon, and salty nuts would hit my nose so quickly and I would always have to by a bag or two (or six haha) of the nuts before I left.
These cinnamon roasted nuts are so addictive and will make your house smell like holiday cheer and cinnamon in about 30 minutes! Who wouldn’t want that?! They are sweet and cinnamon-y but the touch of salt balances it all out perfectly, making for a super delicious snack. If you’re having guests over for a holiday party, make this recipe, put the nuts in the oven, and after awhile, your house will smell incredible! Seriously, it smells so dang good.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can really use any nuts that you have on hand. For example, in the recipe that I made (photographed above), the only nuts I had on hand were unsalted almonds and salted cashews and they were delish! If you only have pecans on hand that works great! If you only have cashews and almonds, that is great too! That’s the wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is so versatile.
The recipe is so simple with only a few ingredients and a few steps. You can put these nuts out as a pre-Thanksgiving appetizer or a holiday party snack for people to munch on or…do what I do and make a batch and try to use restraint and not eat them all when they first come out of the oven. These nuts also make for a perfect holiday gift to give to your neighbors, friends, and family! To gift these, simply make the recipe, let the nuts cool, and then put them in cute mason jars and tie with a fun, little gift tag and ribbon and voila you have a perfect homemade gift for any occasion!
I can assure you, if you put these nuts out before an event, they will be gone faster than you can say “Merry Christmas!”
‘Tis the season!
-XO Emily
(Recipe below)
Cinnamon Roasted Nuts
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups any nuts (preferably unsalted almonds, cashews, or pecans)
- 1 egg white
- 5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar (unpacked)
- 1/4 tsp. salt (I use Morton’s natural sea salt)
- 1 Tbsp. cold water
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Directions
- In large bowl, mix together egg white and water with a whisk and whisk until frothy (not stiff peaks)
- Add nuts into egg white and water mixture and mix until nuts are completely coated
- Combine both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in airtight container (zip top bag or sealed container works fine) and shake until thoroughly combined**(you may need to break the lumps of brown sugar with a fork)
- Pour sugar mixture over nuts and mix until everything is combined
- Pour nut mixture onto well-greased pan and spread out into one even layer
- Bake in oven at 225 degrees until nuts are toasted and aromatic, turning every 15 minutes, for about 1 hour
- Let nuts harden and cool and store in airtight container
- Enjoy!