Spicy Rosemary Maple Bar Nuts

These Spicy Rosemary Maple Bar Nuts are so addictive….a little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty, and perfectly perfumed with savory rosemary.  Perfect with a cold beer, a glass of wine, or better yet….a martini!!

Whenever I have a party I make these nuts to sit on the tables for people to munch on, and everyone loves them.  I also frequently give these out at Christmas time.  They are a nice savory addition to treat boxes that I give out to family and friends.  And better yet they are a cinch to make!

Start by preheating the oven to 350°.  Liberally coat 2 sheet pans with olive oil.  I usually pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil on each sheet pan and spread it around with a pastry brush to ensure the entire pan is coated well.In a small bowl add maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, Hungarian hot paprika, 2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary and 1 tsp. smoked salt.  Whisk all of the ingredients together until thoroughly combined.  Add nuts to large bowl and pour over the mixture.  Stir until all nuts are thoroughly coated in this delicious concoction.

Here I used a combination of Pecans, Cashews, Walnuts and Almonds.  But feel free to use any combination that you want….just make sure you have 8 cups total. I really like the addition of the smoked salt to this recipe.  You can find it on Amazon….but if you’d rather skip it, just add some seasoned salt or kosher salt.  Similarly, if you don’t have Hungarian hot paprika you can use cayenne pepper, just cut the amount to 1 tsp.  If you don’t want the nuts to be spicy at all, you can also just use smoked paprika.Spread in a single layer on the 2 oiled sheet pans.   Bake for 25 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes and 20 minutes.  The mixture will get thicker and stickier as the nuts cook.  It’s important to stir them every 10 minutes or they will all be stuck to the pans by the time they are done cooking. Remove pans from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary and 1 tsp. smoked salt and transfer to parchment paper, wax paper or foil.It’s important to let the nuts cool completely before you put them into a storage container.  If you don’t, the nuts won’t get crunchy and the coating won’t set completely.   So let them cool and store in airtight container until party time!!  And don’t forget to make these Spicy Rosemary Maple Bar Nuts to use as Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, or take them to any get together.  Everyone will love you for it!