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Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts

Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts
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If you’re looking for food gift ideas this holiday, these Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts are a universal favorite. Coated with a tongue tingling blend of spices, these spiced mixed nuts are the most requested holiday treat in our house and one that my friends and neighbors look forward to every year.  The egg white coating ensures that the sugar and spices stay on the nuts, not on your fingers.

 

Mixing spices and sugar for Christmas nuts.

It’s the gifting season and as is customary each December, I make a bevy of homemade treats for co-workers, neighbors,  family, friends, the mailman.  I’m always on the lookout for good food gift ideas, but these Christmas nuts make the short list every year. I think there would be an uprising if they didn’t. Spiced mixed nuts are nothing new and everyone has their own special blend.  This is my go-to recipe. I’ve also got some delicious Coconut Curry Spiced Nuts and Mexican Hot Chocolate Spiced Nuts that are awesome, but if this recipe doesn’t get made, well — much like the Grinch — I’m pretty sure it would prevent Christmas from coming. 

 

whisking egg whites to coat spiced mixed nuts

Which Nuts To Use For Spiced Mixed Nuts

The short answer is make what you like! The spice blend in these Christmas nuts will pair fine with any type of  tree nut you throw at it. Some of my favorites include:

  • Pecans
  • Walnuts
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Hazelnuts
  • Macadamias
  • Brazil Nuts

One nut (that’s really not a nut at all) I wouldn’t throw into the mix: peanuts. The flavor of peanuts is so distinct that I think it would compete with any other nuts you use.  If you want to do peanuts — do ALL peanuts. (I avoid peanuts for one other reason — my daughter is allergic to them).

 

tossing spice mixture onto holiday nuts.

There are as many different ways to make spiced mixed nuts as there are elves in Santa’s workshop.    Some are all sugar and cinnamon, others call for Indian spices or Caribbean. I love to try them all, but there’s one thing I always stay true to — egg whites.

 

baking Christmas nuts on a sheet pan.

Of all the methods I’ve tried to achieve a well-varnished nut, egg whites are my hands-down favorite.   Others use oil to coat the nuts before dousing them with their secret ingredients.  I don’t like this approach because your fingers get greasy while you’re munching the spiced mixed nuts.  You’ll find yourself repeatedly wiping your hands on a napkin after every morsel, which is tough to do when you have a glass of wine in the other hand.   (Don’t judge.)

 

baked spiced mixed nuts on a sheet pan.

The egg white method is my preferred technique for coating the nuts.

How To Make Non-Greasy, Non-Sticky Christmas Nuts

  1. Whisk the egg whites with a little water until you have a very frothy, bubbly mix. (This usually takes a minute of serious whisking).
  2. Add the nuts and toss thoroughly with the egg white mixture. Use a large rubber spatula and mix again and again until the nuts are very well coated and there’s no remaining egg liquid in the bottom of the bowl.  (This is important because you want the nuts to be tacky, not wet. Tacky ensures a good coating of spices.  Wet will yield a big mess when you bake them.) 
  3. If there’s egg liquid left in the bowl, add some more nuts about half a cup at a time, and toss until the nuts are lacquered without any residual liquid in the bottom of the bowl.

 

Christmas nuts in a footed bowl.

Coating Spiced Christmas Nuts

  1. Add the spice blend and use a large rubber spatula to toss and coat the nuts very well.  There should be no spice mix left in the bowl — it should all adhere to the nuts.
  2. Spread the nuts onto a prepared baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.  
  3. Stir the spiced mixed nuts and spread them into an even layer and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.  
  4. The Christmas nuts will get crispier as they cool to room temperature.

 

Food Gift Ideas - Christmas Nuts in a Festive jar.

These Christmas nuts are great with cocktails or just for snacking and they make excellent food gift ideas for your friends and neighbors. In fact, my friend Nola and I each make this recipe every year — and gift our Christmas nuts to each other — LOL! 🙂

More Food Gift Ideas: 

  • Duck Rillettes
  • Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
  • Easy Homemade Guava Jam
  • Sea Salt Bourbon Pecan Cookies
  • Cranberry Nut Pumpkin Loaves



Garlic & Zest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Print Pin
3.52 from 45 votes

Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts

Make these flavorful nuts to have around at the holidays and to gift to your friends and neighbors.
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword christmas, holiday, nuts, snacks, thanksgiving
Dietary Restrictions Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 205kcal

Ingredients

  • 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 6 cups raw, unsalted nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds cashews, macadamias, pistachios

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. 
  • In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and salt until well blended.
  • In a large bowl whisk the egg whites and water together until very frothy and foamy.
  • Add the nuts and toss with a large rubber spatula to coat completely with egg wash. The egg should coat the nuts, without having extra egg white at the bottom of the bowl.  If there's additional egg white mixture pooling in the bowl after coating the nuts, add another 1/2 to 1 cup of nuts and toss again until well coated.
  • Add spice blend and toss to coat nuts completely with the spatula.  All the spice mixture should adhere to the nuts without having leftover spice in the bottom of the bowl.  Continue to toss until all of the spice mix coats the nuts.
  • Spread nuts in a single layer on the sheet pan.  Bake for 10 minutes then stir or flip the nuts and re-spread them into a single layer again. Bake an additional 10 minutes until nuts are toasted, fragrant and crisp. Cool on the sheet pan. Nuts will get crisper as they cool.
  • Store in a airtight container. Serve with cocktails or wrap in cellophane bags to gift.
  • To gift the nuts, fill festive cellophane bags or decorative jars or tins with the nuts. Seal them well to stay fresh.

Making Nuts in a Large Batch

  • I spend a few hours on a Saturday to make about 30 cups of nuts for my holiday gifts.  In order to do this, I mix the nuts in a large tupperware container and portion out the nuts in 6 cup increments.  
  • Make each batch of nuts individually.  Do not mix a large batch of sugar spice mixture or egg white water mixture... You're asking for trouble.

Nutrition

Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Pin “Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts” For Later!

The best food gift ideas are homemade, like these Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts. Great for snacking, these spiced mixed nuts aren't greasy or sticky. #christmasnuts #spicedmixednuts #holidaynuts #foodgiftideas #pecans #cashews #almonds #mixednuts #christmas #newyearseve #snacks #horsdoeuvres

 

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Appetizers// Snacks// Vegan/Vegetarian25 Comments

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Comments

  1. Anita says

    December 22, 2020 at 11:47 AM

    Love the recipe! Thank you! X-Mas Greetings from Austria!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 22, 2020 at 3:04 PM

      So glad you enjoyed it! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  2. Sue says

    December 12, 2020 at 1:53 PM

    I love this recipe but added 1/2 teaspoon more cayenne & ginger. Thought they needed a little more kick!

    Reply
  3. Lisa says

    December 2, 2020 at 11:30 AM

    Can I use chopped nuts?

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 2, 2020 at 12:24 PM

      No, you really need to use whole nuts for this. The beauty of this snack is setting out a bowl of whole spiced nuts and grabbing a handful to munch. It would be tougher to do with chopped nuts.

      Reply
  4. Deb says

    August 24, 2020 at 11:05 AM

    Hello there, can you tell me how long these nuts will keep (will be making some up for Christmas gifts and would like to know how far in advance I can make them). Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      August 24, 2020 at 4:49 PM

      Hi Deb! I make them for Christmas gifts as well and usually I find up to one week ahead of time will give the recipient enough time to devour them before they go stale. If you have a vacuum food sealer, they’ll keep for up to a month sealed in a mason jar. Which is a great way to gift them.

      Reply
  5. Laura B says

    December 27, 2019 at 8:51 PM

    I’m super excited to try this recipe tomorrow for our annual holiday party. One quick question, you like cayenne pepper in the recipe ingredients but refer to chilly l chipotle peeper in the notes afterwards. Which do you usually use?

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 28, 2019 at 7:03 AM

      I use cayenne most of the time. Chipotle will change the flavor profile and make it more smoky.

      Reply
  6. Christine says

    December 23, 2019 at 12:54 PM

    I’m an avid baker–been at it for more than 20 years, and not to toot my own horn (toot, toot), I’m pretty awesome. I just tried a famous Food Network chef’s recipe for spiced nuts and it was a disaster. As soon as I take a nap, I’m making yours! lol! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 23, 2019 at 4:38 PM

      Toot-toot! I love your modesty! I just made a very big batch of these nuts and they’re already half gone. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

      Reply
  7. Brooke says

    December 21, 2019 at 2:34 PM

    Cannot sing the praises of these loudly enough! Amazing, easy, perfect for a Christmas gift to neighbors. Followed the recipe exactly as written (though my eyeball measurement for 6 cups of nuts was 1/4 cup shy) and they came out perfectly. I ended up with 6 1/2 1-cup mason jars for giving, and a large pickle jar-ful for keeping! (Was it a Christmas miracle of multiplying while baking!? Whatever, I’m glad it did!!)

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 21, 2019 at 3:44 PM

      The sugar and spice coating adds a bit of bulk to the nuts… so yes, you do end up with a little more…

      Reply
  8. Brooke says

    December 11, 2019 at 3:28 PM

    Granulated sugar or brown sugar – which is better?

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 11, 2019 at 5:00 PM

      Definitely granulated sugar!

      Reply
  9. Beth Neels says

    December 18, 2018 at 11:17 AM

    I really like the idea of using the egg whites to make the spices stick! I haven’t tried that, but I’m definitely going to give it a try! Thanks for the tip Lisa!

    Reply
  10. Tawnie Kroll says

    December 18, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    Love how easy and delicious these are!

    Reply
  11. Elaine Benoit says

    December 18, 2018 at 10:49 AM

    I bet these nuts are super tasty! I love the spices you used and they look perfectly crispy and so delicious!! I bet everyone in my family would love this as a gift!

    Reply
  12. Lauren @ A Nerd Cooks says

    December 18, 2018 at 10:46 AM

    I love, love sweet and spicy nuts as an appetizer. Your addition of cayenne pepper is so key. These would be perfect for munching during holiday gatherings.

    Reply
  13. rebecca says

    December 18, 2018 at 10:39 AM

    tongue tingling! yes please! these nuts look amazing!

    Reply
  14. Lisa says

    December 19, 2014 at 5:12 PM

    mix the sugar with the spices?

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 19, 2014 at 5:19 PM

      Yes, mix sugar and spices — I whisk it in a small bowl, then after I’ve coated the nuts with the frothy egg mixture, pour the sugar-spice mixture over the nuts and use a spatula or spoon, I fold the spices into the nuts until well coated with spice.

      Reply
  15. Chris says

    December 18, 2014 at 7:33 PM

    Yes, very, very addictive!

    Reply
  16. Charlotte says

    December 23, 2013 at 11:54 AM

    Love the egg white idea. This would be great for our Christmas Eve gathering.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      December 23, 2013 at 1:39 PM

      They are very easy and VERY addictive!

      Reply

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Meet Lisa

Lisa

Calling all cooks! You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to get a delicious, healthy meal on the table! At Garlic & Zest, I’ll show you how to make hundreds of seasonal, fresh recipes and indulgent comfort foods with easy step-by-step instructions and photos to help you master the dish.

Let’s get cooking!

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