can you smell what Michele is cookin’?

This is a recipe that is not only easy, but it will also make your house smell like awesome holidays.  Michele, you ask, what do awesome holidays smell like?  THESE NUTS!!!  I’m telling you, this intoxicating scent is better than the roasted pecans in the every mall – mainly because you made them yourself.  Feel free to use your own favorite mix of nuts.  For this recipe I chose pecans, walnuts and cashews.  Make the nuts ahead of time and bust them out when unexpected holiday guests arrive.  You are welcome!

Honestly, this is mostly all you’ll need to make awesome holiday nuts…

Aside from the o.j. and the maple syrup, the above photo shows all the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe.  My good landscape architect friend RR told me my beloved rosemary bush should survive the winter on our balcony.  It has already snowed once and so far so good, thanks RR!  I figured four 5″ sprigs equals roughly 2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary.  First things first, crank the oven to 375 and start roasting your nuts.  Spread the nuts in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes at 375.

get to roastin’

While the nuts are roasting in the oven, start chopping your rosemary.  You want to chop it as finely as possible, as no one likes to eat big honking pieces of surprise rosemary.

mince your rosemary

Melt the butter in your largest skillet over medium heat.  Add the maple syrup, rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, and orange juice.  Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat.  Toss the nuts in the rosemary sugar mixture, stirring up from the bottom of the skillet to make sure all nuts are coated.  Spread nuts in an even layer on lined baking sheets.  Salt as desired before the nuts dry so the salt will stick.

smells sooooo amazing

Serve warm or at room temperature; you can strategically place bowls of nuts around your home during parties for lovely holiday snacking.  Sweet, salty, spicy, and the rosemary lends just the right amount of holiday taste to these nuts.   Yummmm.

don’t spill your nuts!

Awesome Rosemary Holiday Nuts (Inspired by Ina Garten’s How Easy is That Cookbook)