Nutty Tex-i-Can

Okay fellow bloggers get yer aprons on. I'm passing along a tried and true holiday goodie. I'm kicking it Pioneer Woman style to boot, so lets get cooking shall we?

Cast of Characters:

2 cups each pecan, walnut, almonds

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP minced herbs rosemary, sage, savory, thyme

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Originally this recipe was from a friend who got it from a Gourmet magazine or some other epicurean source and it was called wine bar snack boring! So I am renaming it the "Nutty Tex-i-Can"!

Disclaimer: You do not have to have real maple syrup. I have used the fake stuff and it turned out fine. I am just spoiled now having lived in the land of liquid amber and will never be able to partake in the fake stuff again!

Okay the next part is simple mix up all the liquids and spices and poor over those nuts, drown em!

Then taste it! I added brown sugar last year and thought it gave it a nice zing, so I added a few good heaping spoonfuls again and made a note on my recipe of the modification. This year I also decided some sea salt would balance out the whole shabang. Note: You do not have to have a thrifted tupperware for your brown sugar, but if you do it will make your skirt fly up to have a darling gem like this in your kitchen. (Go thrifting now!)

Spread your lovely goodies on a baking sheet and for goodness sake don't put too much on like I did. I had to use another 9x13 glass baking dish and transfer some over. This is because we didn't move too many kitchen items with us. Oh yeah, back to the point make a thin layer so they bake up real nice and purty at 325 for 2o minutes and stir occasionally.

Now bag them up and store for up to two weeks in an airtight container. That is if you can keep from eating them before then! These make an awesome holiday gift for friends and neighbors. Nice for a holiday buffet or spread. I hope you try them and you enjoy! Oh yeah, the bag on the left was a new experiment some bbq glazed ones based on a recipe from Tasty Kitchen, they turned out kinda bleh, but at least Hubby is still eating them. I may just pour some maple syrup and brown sugar back over them and cook some more to see if I can improve them some!