What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Best brunch item ever? Maybe, but why don't you try them yourself and decide?
Cocoa Roasted Salty Nuts
Rarely does the urge to snack collide with a surplus of ingredients in our pantry. Actually, let me put it another way: it's not very often that I'm willing to use precious nuts and nice cocoa just because I feel a little munchy. Those sorts of pantry items are always set aside for the next recipe, the next party, or yet another hair-brained idea. I just don't raid my own pantry, so it was unusual I came home the other day and made these cocoa roasted salty nuts for no other reason than I wanted to eat them. Didn't hurt that there were 2lbs of fresh macadamia nuts we'd brought home from Hawaii that I could mix with pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts. Or that I could anticipate a stop at Askinosie Chocolate the next time we're in Springfield, MO (so I could comfortably use some of their single-source cocoa for these).
When T got home, the house smelled of freshly baked chocolate cake and there wasn't one in sight. And barely any nuts left either.
Cocoa Roasted Salty Nuts (adapted from Joy the Baker)
3 c nuts
8 T butter, cut into chunks
2 egg whites
1 c sugar
1 T cocoa
1+ tsp coarse sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 325. When the oven is at the temperature, roast the nuts lightly for about 10 minutes, making sure to stir them midway through roasting time to avoid scorching. Remove the nuts from the pan.
- In the same baking pan, add the stick of butter and place the pan back in the oven to melt. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside.
- Whisk the egg whites until they are thick and add the sugar.
- Continue whisking until the egg whites form soft peaks.
- Sift the cocoa onto the egg whites and fold to combine.
- Pour the meringue mixture over the nuts and stir to coat the nuts well.
- Spoon the nuts directly onto the buttered baking pan, forming a single layer of nuts.
- Bake the mixture for 10 minutes, stir it well, and return it to the oven for 10 minutes more.
- Give the pan one more stir and sprinkle the salt all over the nuts. Return the pan to the oven and bake 10 minutes more.
- When you remove the pan from the oven, allow the nuts to rest in the pan until all the remaining butter is absorbed. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- When the nuts are cool, break them up and store them in an airtight container.
