Old-Time Spiced Nuts

This is one of my mother's recipes that she found in a ca. 1950s' cookbook. The original recipe called for pecan halves, but I've always used mixed nuts. If using salted nuts, reduce or omit the salt in the recipe. In addition, as there is egg white in the recipe, you may find the info on the foodsafety.gov to be reassuring. The recommendation is to heat an item containing raw, unpasteurized eggs to 160 F degrees. These nuts are baked at 250 degrees for an hour.

Here's the recipe:

Spiced Nuts

2 tablespoons cold water
1 slightly beaten egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups nuts

Preheat oven to 250 F degrees. Butter a large, shallow baking sheet.

Add water to slightly beaten egg white. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt. Let stand 15 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.

Dip the nuts into the mixture. Spread on prepared baking sheet. Bake in a slow oven (250 F degrees) until golden, about 1 hour. (You may need to reduce the baking time slightly for previously roasted nuts.)

That's it! Super simple and makes a delicious holiday treat with less sugar than cookies or candies.

I am making these nuts for a gift. (I'll make sure to make enough for leftovers for our family!) I am putting together a treat and snack tower, using holiday tins. Something along the lines of the below photo:

My tins are a motley assortment, so I plan to spiff a couple of them up with a coating of spray paint. (I have gold paint at home.) The spiced nuts will fill one of the top, smaller containers.

The Festive Holiday Foods that I Found in My Fridge and Freezer

One of my goals for the next few months is to use up everything in the fridges and freezers, saving some money on grocery purchases in the bargain. Here is what was lingering that I can turn into some festive holiday dishes:

• fruitcake fruit -- yes, I actually like fruitcake and intend to honor my mother's memory by making her recipe
• pecans and almonds for baking and Swedish Christmas rice pudding -- a Christmas Eve dessert
• almond paste for homemade, Christmas morning Danish pastry
• smoked salmon -- even though it's been frozen, when thawed and mixed with cream cheese it makes a good spread
• frozen mounds of whipped cream -- good for homemade eggnog
• frozen croissants
• a variety of sausages -- I'll use some in a savory New Year's Eve pie
• several types of homemade pickles, jams, and marmalades
• frozen berries -- the frozen, wild blackberries make a good pancake syrup for cold winter mornings
• cream cheese -- good for pumpkin cheesecake (my daughters make this and it is soooo good)
• mixed nuts -- I plan on making spiced nuts as a gift and for ourselves with these
• baking chocolate, dipping chocolate, and chocolate chips
• peppermint oil for making peppermint patties
• phyllo dough
• lots of standard baking supplies, such as flour, butter, granulated and powdered sugar, spices, extracts, oil, and crisco

With so many wonderful ingredients already in the house there is little I need to buy at the grocery store for holiday treats.