Today is National Nut Day and here is a recipe I adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini’s Easy Candied Almonds and Hazelnuts recipe here.

Thanks to Alison’s Pantry, I had some almonds and cashews to experiment with this month. Alison’s Pantry offer a bulk food range in New Zealand supermarkets. Great if you just want raw ingredients without the fancy packaging. Alison Holst is the Mother of New Zealand cooking and growing up, every mum in New Zealand followed her trusted recipes.

I thought it would be fun to a bit of spice to the recipe and one spice blend I always have in the cupboard is Garam Masala. There are as many Garam Masala recipes as there are Indian families, but a typical mix contains cardamom, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and peppercorns. You can make your own blend or just buy a blend from the store (like I do). I’ve just used 1/2 a teaspoon of Garam Masala which adds a warm spice.

Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup whole almonds*
• 1 cup whole cashews*
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
• water

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F and line a roasting tray with with baking paper.
2. In a small saucepan, add the sugar and a tablespoon of water. Bring to the boil and remove from heat once all sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the nuts and stir until nuts are evenly coated. Pour onto the prepared tray and spread out into a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and spice.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the nuts are coated with a sugar and spice crust.
5. Cool completely before transferring to an airtight jar.

*Feel free to substitute with whatever nuts you have available.

Enjoy these with a cup of tea or use as a topping on ice cream, waffles, french toast, cake. You’ll probably lose a few for taste testing purposes as they cool. It’s OK. There’s plenty!

Sweet New Zealand

I’m submitting this post as part of Sweet New Zealand, a monthly collection of sweet recipes from kiwi bloggers. This month’s host is Lesley from Eat, Etc…