Gingered Nuts

Add a little spice and heat to purchased nuts with this recipe for an easy holiday appetizer, which combines mixed nuts with candied ginger and cayenne pepper. It's all poured over with sugar syrup, baked, and then cracked into brittle pieces once cooled.

1 lbs mixed nuts (3 cups)
¾ cup candied ginger, minced
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

In a large bowl, combine nuts, candied ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, 3 minutes.

Pour sugar syrup over nut mixture and toss well to combine. Arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until nuts are golden, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack before breaking into bite-size pieces.

Makes 16 servings.