A few months ago I stopped in at one of my favorite little local shops and they had fresh bags of rosemary cashews for sale on the front table. They were a bit on the pricey side, but I wanted to try them and decided to splurge. Oh my goodness, they were so good! However, at $6.25 for a half cup of nuts I knew this was not an item I’d be buying on a regular basis. The ingredients used were posted on the bag so I decided to play around at home to find the right balance of each and added a couple of my own ingredients along the way. It took four batches, but I finally got the flavor where I wanted it to be. These are so good warm, but can easily be stored in an airtight container as well. They would also make a nice gift item in a clear cellophane bag or small glass jar with a little ribbon.
You will need:
2 1/2 cups raw cashews
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp fresh finely minced rosemary
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees and roast the cashews on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown flipping them half way through.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter & brown sugar. Add in the honey, cayenne pepper, salt, cinnamon and rosemary and mix well. When the cashews are finished roasting add them to the bowl and with a soft spatula coat the cashews well. Put the nuts on a plate lined with wax paper and let sit for about 10-15 minutes. You can serve the cashews warm right away, or let them sit a bit longer and store in an airtight container.
NOTE: You can adjust the sweet & spicy levels to your individual preference. If you prefer them a bit more on the sweet side you can eliminate or reduce the cayenne pepper down to 1/8 tsp. If you prefer them more on the spicy side, you can increase the cayenne pepper to 3/4 tsp.
Leave a Reply