Spiced Nuts

My favorite spiced nut recipe that’s always a hit at parties calls for egg whites, and I wanted this to be allergy-free for dear hubby, so I made up my own, taking ideas from here and there.

1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
6 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne

1/3 cup brown sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine nuts in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients except for the brown sugar. Toss the nuts in the coating mixture and spread in a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes total, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until just lightly toasted and crisp — make sure you don’t burn the nuts! Remove from heat, stir in the brown sugar if desired. Let cool in the baking sheet 15 minutes or so, tossing every now and then and breaking up any clumps. When completely cool (it turns crispier as it cools), transfer to an airtight container until serving time. (Will keep a few days at room temp. Make sure you don’t get any moisture in there.)

Other nuts can be subsituted for this. Or use one kind of nut.