Sweet and Savory Pecans and Walnuts

I really like these nuts since they are just a hint of sweet with a pop of spice/savoriness. If you are expecting candied nuts, this won’t be sweet enough for you unless you up the honey. Personally, I love it this way.

You can put the whole thing together in about 20 minutes including prepping, and the ingredients should be readily to hand. Since I find walnuts have a hint of bitterness, I actually like them mixed with the sweeter pecans since they play against each other in taste. If you want more bitter, use all walnuts, more sweet, all pecans. As you wish. There is no egg white in this, the oil and honey are what “wet” the ingredients so the spices stick to them.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Take 4 cups of nuts and put them in a bowl. Add crushed hot red pepper, ground black pepper (fresh is great if you have it) cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Toss. Then put oil in a 1/4 cup measure – this is to grease the cup for the honey. You are only using 3 tablespoons of oil and a quarter cup holds 4 tablespoons. Pour over the nuts. Then pour in the honey in the greased cup and pour over the nuts. Toss together until the nuts are completely coated.

Take a rimmed baking sheet and place a piece of parchment paper to cover it. Pour the coated nuts on the parchment paper.

As you can see, they are a bit clumpy. With your mixing spoon, pat them evenly in one layer on the baking sheet using the whole thing so they don’t clump together. This is very important since you don’t stir these nuts (yay) and this is how they will properly roast.

Bake for 10 minutes and peek at them to make sure they are not too brown. If not, turn 180 degrees and bake another 1 and 1/2 minutes. NOT MORE or they will burn and really, what a shame! Remove from oven.

Now, despite the incredible aroma, be patient and let cool or they won’t crisp up. Yeah, you can sneak one or two when just warm. These are a great snack anytime but especially nice for company, also great as a salad or yogurt topper, sweet, salt, spice, crunch, what more can you ask for?

Sweet and Savory Pecans and Walnuts

2 cups whole pecans
2 cups whole walnuts
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper, depending how hot you like it
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 heaping teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place nuts in a large bowl. Sprinkle with spices and salt. Toss. Pour oil in 1/4 cup measure (to grease the cup for the honey, 3 tablespoons oil is one tablespoon short of 1/4 cup) and pour over nuts. Put honey in greased cup and pour over nuts. Toss till nuts are completely coated.
Spread evenly on parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet in one layer. Make sure nuts are not clumped together. Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes exactly and check. If medium brown, turn tray 180 degrees and bake 1 1/2 more minutes. Immediately remove from oven and cool completely (if still hot they will not crisp up). Break up and serve in pretty bowls as a snack or toss over salad or yogurt. In the unlikely event you have some left over, best to store in a tin or glass jar to preserve the crispiness.