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- These nuts are tossed in beaten egg white instead of oil or syrup to help the spiced sugar mixture stick and crisp up in the oven.
- A mix of sugar, salt, chile powder, cinnamon, and cayenne creates a sweet, salty, and spicy flavor in every bite.
- Roasting at a relatively low oven temperature for about 45 minutes, stirring midway through, gives the nuts time to brown evenly without burning.
“I like to take something that’s generally ordinary and do it really well,” entertaining expert Bronson van Wyck says about his recipe for spiced nuts. “With cinnamon, salt, and sugar, they hit a lot of spots on the tongue.”
How do you get spices to stick to nuts?
While some recipes rely on added oil or syrup to do the job, we utilize the binding power of egg white to adhere our spiced sugar to the cashews and almonds. Not only does neutral-flavored egg white allow the spices and roasted nuts to shine, but it also crisps up beautifully in the oven, contributing to the nuts’ satisfying crunch.
The best temperature for roasting nuts
For this spiced nuts recipe, low and slow is the name of the game. The nuts are roasted at 300°F for 45 minutes, which gives the egg white time to thoroughly dehydrate while the nuts toast evenly, without the risk of over-browning. Be sure to spread the nuts on the sheet pan in a single layer, stirring midway through the baking time.
Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
These spicy nuts are flavored with a simple blend of sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne — all fairly straightforward — along with a full tablespoon of chile powder. Not to be confused with chili powder, the spice blend used to enhance the dish of the same name, what we’re referring to here is the pure pulverized flesh of a singular dried chile variety. Since cayenne is already bringing the heat, we recommend choosing a milder chile powder, such as ancho or Kashmiri.
