Spiced Roasted Almonds

Is everyone ready for Halloween and trick-or-treating tomorrow? I think we are, at least we have the costumes selected, the candy purchased and decorations up on the windows. Just need to put out the fog machine tomorrow so that the kids will walk up to our door in a haze of foggy, spookiness. The best part is checking out all the different costumes the kids shown up in each year.

Of course, with Halloween's arrival that means that the big eating holidays are looming in the very near future! It's time to start thinking about turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie (or pecan pie if that's your thing) and hot rolls! All those things that you just have to make and enjoy this time of year. I know I'm starting to look at the November issues of my favorite magazines and am marking tons of new recipes. Something about those holiday dishes that just gets me so excited!

To begin my search for holiday and entertaining recipes, I thought spiced nuts sounded like a great place to start. Many people purchase those cans of cocktail nuts and place them in nice little dishes to be nibbled on prior to serving the main meal. I've been wanting to try to make a spiced nut just to see if it would be more interesting.

I found a simple recipe to try at Great Party Recipes thanks to Google. A combination of cumin, sugar, garlic powder and cayenne pepper make up the spice mixture. I loved the simplicity of this recipe and as it roasted in the oven for all of 15 minutes, I was enjoying the spicy scent coming from my oven.

These nuts would be perfect not only for a before dinner snack, but also for watching football on Sunday afternoon. A nice cold beer would really wash these down so nicely while rooting for your favorite team and enjoying the company of good friends. I must warn you that these are VERY addictive! You could easily munch through them without a second thought because they are a nice combination of salt and spices.

I can see so many possibilities of seasonings and spices for nuts now that I've made these. The sugar is not the most powerful flavor in this particular recipe, but you could definitely go sweet and salty with these as well. I think I'll try that next.

Spiced Roasted Almonds

Source: Great Party Recipes website

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 cups whole almonds

Coarse salt to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the cumin through cayenne pepper. Add the Worcestershire sauce and almonds. Stir to coat all almonds.

Turn the almonds out on to a shallow baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees. Stirring occasionally.

Transfer to a serving dish and toss with coarse salt. Serve warm. Or if preferred, allow them to cool and store them for up to 3 weeks in an air tight container.