Yep… it’s the time of year to arrive at folks’ homes bearing gifts.
Or mebbe invite folks into your own home for a bit of festive merry-making.
Or mebbe even put a little sumpin’ sumpin’ in teh mail for folk far and away at this festive season.
You’re gonna need you some nuts.
Nicely spiced and roasted, nuts.
Might I suggest these pecans?
Note: walnuts’ll do, too, and they’re a bit less fussy to blanch (see below).
I make these at least once a year for my brother-in-law Gary, and I do believe that this year, I’ve almost got the seasonings perfect, so come along and check out the details…
INGREDIENTS
•4 cups pecans
•2 tsp Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning)
•1 tsp seasoned salt
•1/8 tsp garlic powder
•1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Heat your oven to 350°.
Whisk the confectioners’ sugar together with the seasonings in a large bowl and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to bowl on top of the stove, then add the pecans and blanch for 15 seconds – I use a large mesh sieve for this. If you prefer walnuts, they’re a bit less fussy, you can blanch them for three minutes.
Remove the nuts from the water and immediately toss in the spiced sugar mixture until the sugar has more or less dissolved and coated the nuts evenly.
Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a roasting pan – I use my trusty non-stick turkey roaster for this – and bake for 15 minutes, stirring after seven minutes.
Allow to cool, then stash in a zipper bag until needed.
Nicely spiced, but not too, too much.
Feel free to add a bit of Cayenne or chili powder to the sugar blend, if you’d like a bit of heat.