Going Nuts for Fathers Day

Happy Father’s Day everyone! I hope you’re treating the Fathers and Father figures in your lives very special today. In honor of my insanely amazing Dad (and one of Jamisen’s Grandpas), I wanted to share a recipe for one of his favorite snack foods – flavored nuts! These recipes are SO easy and your Dad will think you spent hours in the kitchen slaving over the stove on his behalf.

I made my Dad each of these recipes but his favorite, if you want to just make one, is the 5 Spice Pecans followed by the Coconut Curry Cashews.

All of these recipes are from Martha Stewart Magazine (Shocking, I know. I positively adore anything and everything Martha).

Adobo Peanuts

2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from one 7-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce; reserve chiles for another use)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Coarse salt

1 1/2 cups salted roasted peanuts (7 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine adobo sauce, butter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add peanuts, and toss to coat using a rubber spatula.

2. Transfer peanut mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and spread in a single layer using spatula. Bake, stirring occasionally, until adobo sauce deepens in color and peanuts are toasted, about 20 minutes.

3. Transfer sheet to a wire rack, and let stand until cool and hardened, about 30 minutes.

Coconut-Curry Cashews

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon honey

course salt

2 cups unsalted roasted cashews (9 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in curry powder, and cook until toasted, about 1 minute. Stir in sugar, water, honey and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Add cashews, and toss to coat using a rubber spatula.

2. Tranfer cashew mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and spread into a single layer using a rubber spatula. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and sprinkle with coconut. Bake until cashews and coconut are golden, 6-7 minutes more.

3. Transfer sheet to a wire rack. Stir nuts, and let stand until cool and hardened, about 30 minutes.

Sugar-Candied peanuts

2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

coarse salt

1. Heat peanuts, sugar, and water in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is grainy and crystallized, 15-18 minutes. (Sugar should not caramelize.)

2. Raise heat to medium-high, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until sugar just starts to melt again. (Sugar will start to caramelize. Adjust heat if sugar begins to burn or smoke.) Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Once peanuts are coated, with some crystallized sugar remaining, transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; spread into a single layer using a rubber spatula.

3. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let stand until hardened, about 30 minutes.

Maple-Candied Walnuts

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coarse salt

2 cups walnuts (6 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer (mixture should be frothy), about 3 minutes. Add walnuts, and toss to coat using a rubber spatula. Cook, stirring, until sauce is syrupy and bubbly, about 3 minutes.

2. Transfer walnut mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and spread into a single layer. Bake until walnuts are caramelized, about 10 minutes.

3.Transfer sheet to a wire rack. Stir, and let stand until cool and hardened, about 30 minutes.

Chinese Five -Spice Pecans

1 large egg white

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

Coarse salt

4 3/4 cups pecans (1 1/4 pounds)

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Whisk egg white in a large bowl until foamy, about 30 seconds. Whisk in sugars, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pecans, and toss to coat using a rubber spatula.

2. Transfer pecan mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and spread into a single layer using rubber spatula. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

3. Transfer sheet to a wire rack, and let stand until cool and hardened, about 30 minutes.

If you’re wondering what the other Father in my life got for Father’s Day, he is a big ice cream fan (okay, fanatic!) so I got him a Zoku Ice Cream Pop maker and the optional tool kit and yes, I’ve already started making those for him! I can’t wait for him to have the chance to go more healthy than his normal evening snack =) The Zoku makes plain yogurt mixed with fruit taste like a decadent treat.

P.S. Don’t have a Father’s Day Card? Soap Queen to the rescue! Print out your last minute Father’s Day cards HERE!

Jamisen loves his Daddy and Grandpas too!