How to Make your Nuts Irresistible

I’ve often roasted nuts to put in salads, hot cereal, or whatever I’m baking, but for some reason I’ve never roasted my own nuts for snacking. Well, I have been missing out. If you aren’t roasting your own nuts, you need to start. The difference in the flavor from the ones you buy is simply incredible. Freshly toasted pecans is now one of my favorite snacks.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• Raw Pecans 

Yep, that’s it. My favorites are the ones from Costco. Although, my maid has said she’s going to bring me some from her family’s pecan farm. I can’t wait to try those!

Preheat your oven to 350°. Then just spread the pecans on a sheet pan in a single layer.

Into the oven for 8 minutes. Yes, I said 8 minutes. Trust me on this one. Pull them out and give them a stir, then spread them back into a single layer.

Back into the oven for another 8 minutes. They won’t look much different when you take them out, but they will smell divine. In fact, your whole kitchen will probably be filled with the aroma of your nuts.

Now, allow them to cool completely… of course some of them will find their way into your mouth during that time. Pour the ones that are left into an airtight container. I always have a mason jar of them sitting on my kitchen counter now. You just never know when you might get a craving to munch on some nuts. 

A couple of quick notes:

You can really do this with any variety of nut. Pistachios are another favorite of mine. You may need to adjust the cook time a little, but just use your nose as a guide. 

I like them just the way they are, but if you really like salty nuts, just sprinkle a little over the top right before you stir them. 

Store the raw nuts in your freezer and roast them in fairly small batches. That way, your nuts will always be fresh!

Vanilla Sugar - The Season's Sweetest Gift

I’ve made flavored sugar a few times in the past. There was lime sugar, orange sugar, and grapefruit sugar. I’ve also mentioned vanilla sugar a time or two, like in my vanilla bean bread pudding, but I’ve never posted an actual recipe for it. This year, however, I’ve decided to give it as a holiday gift to all of my friends and family. (Shhh, don’t tell them. It’s a surprise.) Not only is it a fantastic thing to make just to have on hand in your own house, but it really is a wonderful homemade gift. It needs time to age, though, so you’ll want to get started soon.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• Organic sugar
• Vanilla beans 

Yep, that’s it. Just two ingredients. That’s why it’s more important than ever that they’re really high quality. You really do want to use organic sugar for this. As for the vanilla beans, personally, I think you can’t beat Penzeys Mexican Vanilla Beans. (Have I mentioned that Penzeys opened a store like 5 minutes from my house?!)

So first of all, you need to decide how much vanilla sugar you’re going to make. I needed to make 27 bottles. Each of my bottles holds 3 cups, so my mixer can handle doing 4 at a time. I recommend using 3-4 cups of sugar per vanilla bean. These 24 ounce jars are perfect. For me, that meant each batch was 12 cups of sugar and 4 vanilla beans. Measure your sugar into the bowl of your mixer and set it aside.

Next, slice each vanilla bean down the middle, leaving it intact for about an inch at one end.

Then, open up each half and carefully slide the back side of your knife along the length of the pod, scraping out the tiny seeds from within.

Look at that gorgeousness. I think these little seeds are far more deserving of the moniker ‘black gold’ than any caviar.

Drop the seeds into your sugar.

Then, with your paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 5 minutes or so. The vanilla should be nicely broken up and dispersed throughout. If you don’t have a stand mixer, this is going to be a bit more work. You could do it in a bowl with a whisk and elbow grease, or you could put it into a larger container with a lid and shake, shake, shake. Either way, you’re looking at quite a workout if you’re doing more than one or two jars.

Place a (now empty) vanilla bean into each jar.

You’re going to want to use a wide mouth funnel. If you’re using wide mouth jars, I highly recommend this one. It fits perfectly. Ones that fit regular mouth jars are a bit easier to come by.

Pour the vanilla sugar into the jars.

You want to fill them quite full because they’ll settle a bit as they sit.

And there you have it, homemade, and seriously amazing vanilla sugar. (Your whole kitchen will smell like vanilla for hours to come.)

Just pop on a lid and put it somewhere safe for at least a month. The longer the better, really. Aren’t they pretty? Vanilla sugar is a great gift for just about anyone. It’s fantastic for sweetening coffee or tea, or you can use it in place of regular sugar in any recipe.

Now, if you were to buy vanilla sugar (if you can even find it) it will just be regular sugar that has had vanilla bean pieces sitting in it. Sure, it will taste slightly like vanilla, but the aroma won’t overwhelm you when you remove the lid, and it won’t have all these beautiful vanilla seeds dancing through it.

What is your favorite homemade gift to give or receive?