Spiced Nuts Recipe & Variations on Candied Nuts

This Chai spiced nuts recipe is easy and results in delicately crisp nuts bursting with sweet spice. These candied nuts also take on a new dimension when dipped in chocolate and dusted with salted cocoa powder or spiced icing sugar. Serve all three varieties and put on a nut spread to impress.

The inspiration behind this chai spiced candied nuts recipe comes from having the pleasure of working with Cracking Nuts. My brief was to produce a set of images for their website. The perk of the job was getting to sample their range of nuts along the way.

It's fair to say that trying these amazing nuts sparked off a bit of a nut obession in my home.

Before this time my kids could take or leave nuts. They could handle a few in baking, but nuts were not something they got excited about.

Fast-forward to the present day and it's a different matter: When I was developing this chai spiced nuts recipe, two little heads kept on popping through to the kitchen to see if they could scrounge some.

Are These Candied Nuts?

Yes they are. Essentially, this is a recipe for candied nuts that includes chai spice.

But if you want to get fancy and look smart in front of your friends, go an extra step. You'll end up with a trio of Chai Spiced Candied nuts from just one batch.

• Try double dipping some of the Chai Spiced Candied Nuts in chocolate and then dust them in salted cocoa powder. That cocoa hit, along with the salt, sweet spice and crispy shell is devilishly good
• To complete the trio, double dip a few more candied nuts in chocolate then dust with icing sugar laced with more chai spice. The result is crisp, chocolately nuts that are bursting with sweet spicy flavours. Nut heaven

So, in truth, today I'm presenting not just a spiced nuts recipe. It's also a recipe for candied nuts with a chocolate covered nuts recipe thrown in for good measure. Life doesn't get much better.

Serve all three varieties in pretty individual bowls to scoff with friends. Or, if you're feeling generous, pack them into gift jars to give away.

The Base Recipe for Candied Nuts

Ingredients

My base recipe for these candied nuts begins with a homemade chai spice mix made from:

• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground allspice
• Ground cloves
• Salt
• Green cardamom

Of course, you can substitute your own chai spice mix if you already have a favourite, or use store-bought.

Aside from this spice blend, these are just 4 more ingredients required:

• Egg white
• Vanilla extract
• Soft brown sugar
• Mixed nuts (I used almonds, pecans, cashews & hazelnuts)

I've used a good mix of nuts here, but if there is one you are not so keen on, just replace it with another nut of your choice. Ensure any nut you are using is unsalted though, since this recipe for candied nuts is developed with unsalted nuts in mind.

Finally, to proceed with the chocolate covered nuts recipe, you will need:

• Milk chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Icing sugar
• Cocoa Powder
• Sea salt

Instructions: Candied Nuts

These is nothing complicated about this recipe for candied nuts with chai spice. It does, however, need a little bit of your attention during the cooking stage as the best results from this recipe require you to stir and turn the nuts a few times in the baking process:

• Put the spices into a bowl along with the salt and mix. Remove 1 teaspoon of the mixed spice and set aside for the decorating stage
• Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with baking parchment
• Put the nuts into a small bowl with the sugar and the remaining spice blend. Toss together
• Whisk the egg white and the vanilla extract together in another bowl until very frothy but not stiff
• Scrape the frothy egg white onto the nuts and stir to cover well
• Spread the nuts out onto the baking sheet
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. It will look a little un-appetising in the beginning. Don't worry, this is normal. When the mix is no longer wet, the nuts are baked
• Take out of the oven and let cool completely

You can leave the recipe here and just consume the nuts as they are, but it's far more fun to push things a little further and follow the next set of instructions for my chocolate covered nuts recipe.

Instructions: Chocolate Covered Nuts Recipe Variation

After attaining your batch of candied nuts as per the instructions already listed proceed as follows:

• Chop the milk & dark chocolate finely & mix together. Divide between 2 heatproof bowls and set 1 bowl over a bain marie to melt
• Pick the nuts off the baking sheet, leaving behind any crumbs. Put ⅓ of the candied nuts into a bowl and set aside
• Prepare a large baking sheet with baking parchment
• When the chocolate has melted tip in all of the remaining nuts. Toss until all of the nuts are coated and then transfer to the baking parchment. Working quickly, use a couple of forks to separate the nuts, transfer to the fridge to set (approx 10 minutes)
• Meanwhile grind the sea salt in a pestle and mortar until fine
• Take approximately ¼ of this salt and add to the icing sugar along with the remaining 1 teaspoon spice - sieve into a shallow bowl
• Add the remaining salt to the cocoa powder and sieve into another shallow bowl
• Prepare a fresh sheet of baking parchment
• When the first layer of chocolate has set, melt the remaining chocolate
• Loosen the chocolate covered nuts from the baking parchment. Tip the nuts into the chocolate and stir thoroughly, then transfer to the fresh parchment, separate and allow to set briefly but not completely (just a moment or two).
• Take half of the nuts and toss in the icing sugar
• Take the remaining nuts and toss in the cocoa powder
• Leave to set

This part sounds quite fiddly, but is actually relatively simple in reality, albeit a little messy. The results are well worth your additional efforts though.

If you don’t fancy making your own nuts but want something special to munch on then take a look at Cracking Nuts. This growing family business, based in Devon, produces the finest nuts I’ve ever tasted. And the great news is that UK customers can buy from their online store.

FYI: This is not a sponsored post. I am not being paid to mention Cracking Nuts. Quite simply, they produce an amazing product and have inspired me to create this chai spiced nuts recipe. So here's to the Cracking Nuts team.

Find More Recipes Featuring Chai Spice

I do have a particularly soft spot for chai spice recipes, I'm sure regular readers have noticed it. Here are a few of my other creations:

• Chai Shortbread Cookies
• Chai Spice Toffee
• White Hot Chocolate with Chai Spices
• Comforting Chai Spice Steamer
• Spiced Chai Latte Martini

Chai Spiced Candied Nuts – 3 Ways

Jane Saunders

These Chai Spiced Candied Nuts are easy to make, bursting with sweet spice and deliciously crisp.

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Course: Snack

Cuisine: Worldwide

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

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Ingredients

For the Chai Spice

• ▢ 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Ground ginger
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Ground allspice
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon Ground cloves
• ▢ Large pinch salt
• ▢ Seeds from 6 cardamom pods

For the Nuts

• ▢ 1 Egg white
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
• ▢ 100 g/ ½ cup Soft brown sugar (light)
• ▢ 60 g/ ½ cup Almonds
• ▢ 60 g/ ½ cup Pecan nuts
• ▢ 60 g/ ⅜ cup Cashew nuts
• ▢ 60 g/ ⅜ cup Hazelnuts

To Cover the Nuts

• ▢ 75 g/ ½ cup Milk chocolate
• ▢ 75 g/ ½ cup Dark chocolate
• ▢ 20 g/ ¼ cup Cocoa powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Sea salt
• ▢ 20 g/ ¼ cup Icing (confectionary) sugar

Instructions

Prepare the Chai Spice

• Put the spices into a bowl along with the salt and mix. Remove 1 teaspoon (level) of the mixed spice and set aside for the decorating stage

Make the Candied Nuts

• Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment
• Put the nuts into a small bowl with the sugar and the remaining spice blend. Toss together
• Whisk the egg white and the vanilla extract together in another bowl until very frothy but not stiff
• Scrape the frothy egg white onto the nuts and stir to cover well
• Spread the nuts out onto the baking sheet
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. It will look a little un-appetising in the beginning. Don't worry, this is normal. When the mix is no longer wet, the nuts are baked
• Take out of the oven and let cool completely

Covering the Nuts

• Chop the chocolate finely and mix together, divide between 2 heatproof bowls and set 1 bowl over a bain marie to melt (see notes)
• Pick the nuts off the baking sheet, leaving behind any crumbs. Put ⅓ of the candied nuts into a bowl and set aside
• Prepare a large baking sheet with baking parchment
• When the chocolate has melted tip in the remaining nuts. Toss until all of the nuts are coated and then transfer to the baking parchment. Working quickly, use a couple of forks to separate the nuts, transfer to the fridge to set (approx 10 minutes)
• Meanwhile grind the sea salt in a pestle and mortar until fine.
• Take approximately ¼ of this salt and add to the icing sugar along with the remaining 1 teaspoon spice - sieve into a shallow bowl
• Add the remaining salt to the cocoa powder and sieve into another shallow bowl
• Prepare a fresh sheet of baking parchment
• When the first layer of chocolate has set, melt the remaining chocolate. Meanwhile loosen the chocolate covered nuts from the baking parchment. Tip the nuts into the chocolate and stir thoroughly, then transfer to the fresh parchment, separate and allow to set briefly but not completely (just a moment or two).
• Take half of the nuts and toss in the icing sugar
• Take the remaining nuts and toss in the cocoa powder
• Leave to set
• Store in airtight containers for up to 1 month

Notes

To melt chocolate using a Bain Marie: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with a small amount of water - ensure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Heat the water to almost boiling. Put your chocolate into the heatproof bowl and let the heat from the water melt the chocolate. The chocolate must not come into contact with the water

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