Roasted Nuts with Spices.

The natural aroma and flavor in nuts bloom and deepen when you roast and toast them. The heating process also allows you to customize and infuse your own spice mix.

Ingredients: 

• For nuts, use one cup of whole unpeeled almonds, unsalted cashews, unsalted pecan halves, unsalted walnut halves or salted peanuts.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter
• Spice mix:
• Spicy: 1/8 tsp chili powder and 1/8 tsp chipotle pepper (or paprika, or cayenne), pinch of salt and pepper 
• Sweet: 2 tsp dutch-processed cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of water, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, pinch of salt
• Ethnic: 1 tsp curry powder, pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper
• Savory: 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (or ground cumin and cayenne), pinch of salt, pinch of white pepper

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 
2. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil or butter and mix in the spices to your liking in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the nuts to coat evenly and turn the heat off. Keep stirring for 5 minutes until the syrup thicken and coat all the nuts.
3. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet in one single layer. Roast for 10 minutes until they start to give off lovely nutty fragrance. Toss to flip sides and to pick up oil or syrup, so the bottom side can get a chance to be roasted as well. Spread out and roast another 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven as soon as it starts to get deeper color.

Note:

• You can also roast at 400F but try 8-10 minutes and check doneness. Don't over-roast and burn them.