Spiced Candied Nuts

I realize that I'm a little late to the party, but this week I'll be sharing some of our favorite Christmas goodies. To earn the title of "Favorite", a recipe must be tried and true. It must be able to stand alone as a goodie, without the need for fance and frills. It must be able to hold it's own against the highly popular, yet superficial beauty of the frosted cut-out cookie. Especially if it is sporting a never-before-seen color.

That said, sometimes we make exceptions to the favorites list. Like, when Mom decides to try a gluten-free version of a snickerdoodle and it turns into an unrecognizable pile of goo that even the goats won't touch.

It could happen. I'm not sayin' it did, but it could.☺

I liken this turn of events to a beauty pageant. You know, where one of the top 5 girls are equally perfect, but then just before the final judging, there is a scandal that is revealed, leaving girl #6 the opportunity to shine.

Yep, just like that. It's time for goodie #6 to shine, because the infamous gluten-free snickerdoodle has been bumped.

And if the sticky fingers and trips to the candy dish are any indication, #6 just might be the real winner.

50 #'s of walnuts, just waiting to be shelled.

~Spiced Candied Walnuts~

~The Players~

3 cups shelled, walnut halves

1-1/2 cup organic sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the sugar on medium heat until it starts to melt.

 When the sugar starts to melt, use a wooden spoon and continue to stir until sugar is a medium amber color. Add the spices and mix well. Turn heat down to simmer.

Pour the nuts into the saucepan, stirring to coat all of the nuts. Using 2 forks, quickly move nuts, a couple at a time, to the parchment-lined cookie sheets. Be careful, these are extremely hot!

This is kind of messy, but once the nuts have hardened (about 5 minutes), the sugar "hairs" can be picked off. I'm sure there's a technical term for the strands of candied sugar, but it looks like hair to me.

I'm a simple girl.☺

Enjoy!