Hey friends! Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK. Last year, we celebrated Thanksgiving from Cape Town, South Africa and it was an expensive pain to get our hands on a turkey, not to mention I was desperately homesick by that point and another holiday spent away from our families made me all the more antsy to see them.
This year, we’re of course missing the far away beauty of Cape Town, especially HUSBAND (<<< another blog name upgrade!). But we will be celebrating the day with our families, and this is the first time I’ll get to tell people we’re spending Thanksgiving at my “in-laws”, something I couldn’t be more excited about!
I have two responsibilities for this year’s feast: dinner rolls and an appetizer. I already have a killer recipe in my arsenal for dinner rolls, but I haven’t quite landed on an appetizer. Appetizers on Thanksgiving are usual a super accessible food to keep the vultures at bay while the master chef/s of the house wrap up what they need to do. It should be snacky, indulgent, and mildly filling, but nothing that may not allow room for the huge indulgence that’s about to take place.
Let’s put it this way: if you need your Thanksgiving sweatpants before the official meal has been served, you’re doing it wrong.
One of my contenders is these incredible bar nuts I’ve made a few times before. They’re the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and spicy and they are incredibly addictive. Yes, they might be covered in sugar and butter, but they’re NUTS. And… nuts are a healthy snack, right? Sure, pretty high in calories, but I might be able to feel ever so slightly better about having handfuls of these guys than cracker after cracker dipped into a cheese ball (not that a cheese ball isn’t TOTALLY a contender for my Thanksgiving appetizer, too).
Alright, let’s chat about what we have here. I think the best nut mix for this is almonds, walnuts, and peanuts, but feel free to be a bit creative. I also recommend getting raw nuts and roasting them yourself, but again, not gonna be a stickler about this. Do whatcha gotta do.
Let’s get to the tasty part. You’re going to melt plenty of butter, dissolve brown sugar into, stir in some cayenne pepper, salt, and rosemary. That’s it. And you’re left with one of the tastiest snacks you’ll ever experience.
This is a great snack before dinner at any party or to have out at your functions throughout the holiday season. Guests will LOVE it and it will keep them occupied until the main show is ready to go. It’s also really easy on you to throw together and requires mostly ingredients you’ll have on hand!
Happy holiday prepping this week! May no turkeys be overcooked and all mashed potatoes be creamy (with a few lumps- I’m taking a hard stance on this one). Side note: these would also make an excellent gift for the wonderful people in your life!
You can also view this recipe as a step-by-step web story here.
Get the Recipe:
Best Ever Bar Nuts
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups raw mixed walnuts, peanuts, and almonds
- 1 1/2 tbsp salted butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread the nuts evenly over a large baking sheet. Toast in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden.
- While the nuts are toasting, melt butter over medium low heat in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add remaining ingredients and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Pour the butter mixture over the nuts and toss to thoroughly coat. Serve immediately.
Looks like an homage to Union Square’s bar nuts. It never hurts to acknowledge an influence 😉
I’m not familiar with Union Square (is this a restaurant?) but if they’re anything like these I’m sure they’re delicious.
Bruce, stop being a cock.