Spicy Garlic Chili Cashews

Need a tasty snack for company in a pinch? Looking for something with a little zing? These Spicy Garlic Chili Cashews will fit the bill. They take only minutes to prepare, keep well when stored in an airtight container, and will please even the finickiest of guests.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 10 oz. whole, unsalted cashews (approx. 2 ½ C)
• ½ tsp. each of sea salt, garlic powder, chili powder & chipotle chili pepper

Here’s what to do:

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add in the cashews. Stir continuously making sure the nuts do not get too brown, too quickly.  If they start to, turn down the heat a bit.  Once they have just started to lightly brown in spots, push the nuts to the outer edges of the pan and sprinkle all of the spices into the middle of the pan.  Stirring gently and continuously, allow the spices to mix and warm in the center of the pan for about a minute.  Then begin to stir the cashews into the spices until all of the nuts are evenly coated and have a nice golden brown color to them.  Remove pan from the heat and transfer the cashews to a paper towel and let them completely cool.   Once they are cool, enjoy a few and then store the rest in an airtight container. 

 Notes/Tips:

• If you can’t find unsalted cashews then just reduce the amount of sea salt by half
• Warming the spices really brings out their aroma and flavors
• Substitute the chipotle chili pepper for more chili powder if you do not like that much spice