spiced nuts as the perfect snack

These spiced nuts make for a perfect snack to keep around the house or office. Sweet, salty and warmly spiced they check all the boxes for a tasty treat.

6 cups of mixed nuts (I prefer a combo of almonds, pecans and cashews)

2 egg whites plus 2 Tbs water

2 cups of sugar

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp salt

Whip egg whites and water until stiff peaks form. Fold in sugar, cinnamon and salt. Gently mix in nuts making sure to coat the nuts completely in the egg mixture. Spread onto a parchment lined (I also give the paper a spray with cooking spray) cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool then enjoy! These would also make great gifts during the holidays.

Feel free to change the spices, I also enjoy pumpkin spice instead of cinnamon and bet these would be lovely with a chai spice mix as well.

Cardamom marshmallow recipe

When the weather starts to get cooler a favorite treat in our house is a homemade cardamom marshmallow. The fluffy texture and gentle spice is nothing like the traditional store bought variety. We love them floating in a cup of hot coffee, hot chocolate or just plain! This recipe makes a ton of marshmallows but trust me, make the whole batch and share with friends. They will be gone in no time!

Cardamom Marshmallows

A variation of this recipe

You will need :

4 envelopes of plain gelatin

1 1/2 cups of water, divided

1 Tbs. Vanilla Extract

2 tsp. ground Cardamom

3 Cups Sugar

1 1/4 cups corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

Marshmallow dust- equal parts corn starch and powdered sugar to coat (about 1/2 cup combined)

Special equipment: A stand mixer and candy thermometer

Prepare a 9”x 13” pan by coating with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Line the pan with parchment paper and give that a light coating as well.

Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and splash guard if you have one. In the bowl of the stand mixer add 3/4 cup of water, gelatin, vanilla extract and cardamom. Allow the gelatin to bloom (soften) while you complete the other steps.

In a heavy bottomed medium sized saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining 3/4 cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil without stirring. Once the mixture has come to a boil remove the lid and continue to cook without stirring until it reaches the soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer (234-240 F).

With the mixer at medium speed carefully pour all of the hot liquid into the bowl with the gelatin mixture. Be very careful as this is super hot! Bring the mixer up to full speed and whip for about 8-10 minutes. The mixture will turn white and fluffy much like marshmallow fluff! Pour the marshmallow into the parchment lined pan, smoothing if needed with a lightly oiled spatula. Allow the marshmallow to set, uncovered for 10-12 hours (I make mine in the evening and cut them the following morning).

Make the marshmallow dust by combining equal amounts of corn starch and powdered sugar. I used about 1/4 cup of each but you don’t have to be exact.

Sift the marshmallow dust over the set marshmallows and turn out onto a cutting board. Dust with more of the sugar mixture, these will be very sticky! Using a lightly oiled, large sharp knife cut the marshmallows into 1 inch squares. Sift the dust over all the cut sides to prevent marshmallows from sticking to each other (and you!). Store in an airtight container.

These are a real treat dipped in chocolate and crushed graham crackers for bite sized S’Mores!