The Treat Tower: The Tins

I've seen these in catalogs for years and always wanted to receive one. I know. The crazy things we wish for, right? Anyway, as mentioned yesterday, I am putting together a tower for a gift, using some of my stash of tins. Here's a photo of the tins that I think will work.

There are 5 tins altogether. The top one and bottom 3 (the poinsettia 2 are side by side) are vendor tins. The bottom and top one have labels on them, while the 2 poinsettia tins just say "Happy Holidays." My thought is I only need to paint the bottom and top tins in the photo, as the other 3 will look fine, as is. I'm using some gold spray paint on those two. I've just sprayed the first coat and will do a second coat in a bit. If any of the design shows through, I'll add some extra trim, like ribbon or spray "snow." The top tin has a raised design on the lid. I plan on covering that with a silk blossom, wreath of silk leaves, or large bow, hot-glued onto the top.

I just checked the tins, and the paint is looking good. Here are the bottoms to the tins. The color is kind of off in the photo. They are definitely gold, and not coppery.

No printing shows through, but I think I will wrap a band of red ribbon around the bottom tin to thematically tie it into the rest of the tins.

On spray painting tins -- I cleaned the interiors with soapy water and dried well, using a toothpick to clean out the crack where the base meets the side. I also used rubbing alcohol to thoroughly clean the exterior, so the paint would adhere evenly. I did not do anything else to prepare the tins. I place the tins, upside down, on boxes, in order to spray the sides evenly, without getting paint inside. I plan on leaving the tins open for a week or so, before putting lids back on, to let the paint thoroughly harden. I am very pleased with how the tins painted. As far as I can tell for now, this is a great solution for sprucing up tins.

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.