Mexican Hot Chocolate Spiced Nuts
Do you have a holiday “thing” that you’re known for? My friend Nola makes gorgeous starched icicle ornaments for the tree and gifts them every year to friends and family. My cousin, Katrina makes hundreds of different kinds of cookies to give. My aunt was known for her potholders and handmade ornaments. And my claim to fame is spiced nuts. Every year.
Before this blog – I made the same recipe each year, but running a food/cooking website changes things — people expect something new. For this version of spiced nuts, I was inspired by a food gift that I received from my friend, Nola. A package of Mexican hot cocoa mix!
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Mexican hot cocoa is different than the regular stuff — because it’s spiced with cinnamon and cayenne, giving it a lively kick and making it infinitely more interesting than those sad, powdered packages of Swiss Miss. Hmmm – spices and cocoa…
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. A blend of sugars, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, cinnamon and cayenne — plus salt (you always need a little salt — otherwise they’ll taste flat). The key to good spiced nuts is using egg whites to coat the nuts – it wets them enough to get the spice mix to stick and it provides a shiny gloss. Too much egg white or too few nuts yield a goopy mess – you’re looking for Goldilocks here — just right. After they’re baked, the nuts are dry and you can grab ’em by the handful without getting sticky fingers!
Incidentally — you’ll want to eat ’em by the handful too! These are subtly sweet, with a tingly spice and a mild cocoa flavor — and they are so good! My neighbor was nibbling hand to mouth. Emily swooned and Scott grunted his approval between bites.
These spiced nuts make a great snack but they are absolutely stellar with a cocktail and they are perfect for gifting! I buy glass jars at TJ Maxx for a few dollars and fill them with these nuts. With a bow on top — this is a lovely hostess gift.
Spiced Cocoa Nuts
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 cups cashews
- 2 cups almonds
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white from an extra large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
DIRECTIONS:
- Arrange oven racks to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together to combine, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the egg white and water to a large bowl and whisk vigorously until foamy and light. Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and use a large spatula to mix the nuts until they are completely covered in egg white -- but not gloopy. Nuts should be glossy and tacky -- and there shouldn't be any liquid remaining at the bottom of the bowl -- it should all be on the nuts. If there is excess liquid, add more nuts and continue to toss until they are completely coated. Add the spice mixture to the nuts and fold the spice into the nuts until completely coated.
- Divide the nuts between the two baking sheets and spread evenly into a single layer. Place one pan on the upper rack and the other on the lower rack and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the nuts and stir or flip them. Spread into a single layer and move the baking sheet that was on the top rack to the lower rack and vice versa. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Cool the nuts on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a heat proof bowl to finish cooling. They harden and crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container.
NOTES:
NUTRITION:
More Food Gifts:
Superb recipe! I wonder if the unhappy reader substituted a sweet chocolate rather than the Mexican chocolate called for. Mine went quickly with many requests by guests to share the recipe!
We absolutely love these, Lisa! I made them for my son for Christmas! Pure unadulterated genius! Thanks for the recipe!!!!!
REally delicious and perfect for gifting.
Dangerously Delicious ? I made the recipe with all ingredient but substituted different nuts with what I had!! Great balance of flavor !!
Always love your recipes! You had me at chocolate and nuts lol
I’m here for all this spicy goodness!!!
These sound like the perfect snack for the holidays! I’m looking forward to whipping up a batch. 🙂
Let me know how you like them, Lisa!
Haha I know what you mean about the “something new”. It gets exhausting sometimes. These look amazing. Love the creativity of flavor!
It definitely keeps us on our toes- trying to innovate, doesn’t it?!
I was looking for a recipe similar to this one. It looks really good. Thank you for posting.
Let me know how you like it!
This is one great claim to fame! Hot chocolate spiced nuts are amazing! I snack on them all day long!
Yes, I may have done that!
These look so delicious! How do I get on your holiday gift list this year?? 😀
LOL! Don’t wait for me, make some!
They look fantastic, I have never made nuts like these at home but keep meaning too… Definitely something added to my to do list during my downtime next week 😉
If you do, I’d love to hear how you liked them!
What a wonderful snack! Perfect for the holidays, great after school snack too – YUM!
Wait till you try them, oh-ma-Gawd!
These looks delicious. I’ll definitely be making these soon!! Yum!!
Let me know how you like them, Sabrina!
This is a claim to fame to be very proud of! Sounds absolutely delicious!
They are really good!
These nuts look absolutely scrumptious and I am so jealous of those who will be receiving a jar this year
Thank you, Lynn – and by the way — your photography is amazing!
Oh this is just glorious Lisa! I bet a large batch of these would make any holiday gift basket a bit more special! P.S: I absolutely love Mexican Hot chocolate!
Well, there you go… Enjoy, Tina!
Yum…what a great way to dress up a tin of plain nuts. I love the addition of the cayenne pepper and cocoa powder. I like that you used a mixture of nuts to make this recipe and you are right, the perfect gift from the heart for the holidays.
I make these in huge vats at the holidays – as in a 5 pound bag EACH of almonds, pecans, cashews, pistachios…
These look and sound fabulous! I love nuts! I love chocolate! I love spice! I need to make these ASAP!
I think you should!
Oh my goodness! These sound delicious! I’ve made candied nuts before, but never thought to put spices in them. Genius. 🙂
It’ll change your world, Raia!
These look irrestible Lisa! They are perfect at any party!
I’m afraid they are, Sandhya!