Waffle & Whisk: Cashews

Friday, 16 December 2016

Ginger & Orange Candied Nuts - Bakemas Day 16

Candied nuts were kind of a personal tradition for me around Christmas (yeah, I was the only one); I’d always go to London at the end of November and get nuts from a random man off the streets....that doesn’t sound fishy at all! For the past few years I haven’t been to London around Christmas, actually I’ve not been to London period and as much as love nuts off the streets (still sounds weird) street vendors...that sounds a little better, last year I finally decided to try and make my own. I was obsessed with these, now here’s the part where I start to add all the flavours into my candied nuts, seriously, it’s already begun!

Cinnamon Candied Nuts - Bakemas Day 14

One of my favourite things about this time of the year is candied nuts, okay, one of my favourite things about food markets is candied nuts, my favourite thing about this time of year is roasted nut street vendors. The smell, the taste, every time I go to London around this time I will go out of my way specifically to buy a cup of these nuts and although I don’t think I’ll ever be able to replicate that because it's probably more about the feeling these taste bloomin’ amazing and are so quick and simple.

Most of the recipes I’ve seen online for candied nuts involve roasting them for about an hour on a low heat in the oven the words “ain’t nobody got time for that” are ringing in my head! So ever the impatient one when it comes to stuff like this I thought cooking them in a frying pan was a way better idea, I was right, these take about 10 minutes? to cook and then they’re there staring you in the face, daring you to try one when they’re piping hot, not a good idea!

You can use any nuts you like, you might be an only almond fan, or you might like an exotic mix, this recipe suits any and all nuts, I pretty much threw in every type of nut we had when I was testing this out. I’ve actually never found candied pistachios anywhere but going through the nut cupboard while making these I found some and figured I’d throw them in, they’re not quite beating my ultimate favourite pecans but I’d say they’re in a solid second place, if you have some knocking about you should definitely add them in.

There is now a jar of sugary cinnamony nuts sitting in the kitchen ready to be nibbled on every time I walk in there, maybe slightly dangerous but exactly what the season calls for!