With the holidays fast approaching, I’m working on my homemade gifts. I always like to make some personalized food-related gifts for friends and family that I’ll be seeing around the holidays. Last year, I made my own extracts, which everyone seemed to enjoy.
This year, one of the ideas I had was a custom holiday spiced nuts mix. I love munching on spiced nuts and receiving them as gifts, so I thought it’d be fun to make my own. It’s really easy, you can make a big batch ahead of time, and you can customize to your liking.
For my nuts, I chose Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts because it offers such a nice variety. Whether you like cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, almonds or pistachios best, there’s a little something for everyone. Planters has been around for more than 100 years and it’s the brand I grew up with. I loved Mr. Peanut as a kid! I coated and baked the nuts in a sweet and spicy mix. The nuts have a shiny new glaze after they are finished. I then added in some chopped chocolate, since I love chocolate in just about everything.
I’m planning on packaging them in jars and then tying them with red ribbons. It’s a simple and easy holiday gift that is also fun and delicious.
Spiced Mixed Nuts
Ingredients
- 4 cups Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup chopped milk or dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Heat sugar, water and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is completely melted.
- Add mixed nuts to large bowl. Add in cayenne pepper and toss with nuts. Pour in melted butter mixture and stir until nuts are completely coated.
- Place nuts onto baking sheet, in a single layer. Bake for about 15 minutes. Nuts should be sticky with coating. Gently move nuts off of baking sheet onto a clean surface to cool so that they do not stick to the sugar mixture pooled on the baking sheet. Let nuts cool before mixing in chopped chocolate and placing into gift jars or gift bags.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and provided product samples by Kraft Foods, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
