Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans

As much as I love my sweets, I also love me some salty stuff every now and then. And when I crave salty I want potato chips. But since potato chips aren’t the healthiest things, I find myself snacking on nuts. Be it almonds, cashews or walnuts, nuts are packed with vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps kick pesky free-radicals out of your body and creates antibodies that fight the bacteria that make you sick. Interesting fact, huh? These pecans and cashews are packed with cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and a touch of sugar for a spicy-sweet snack.

Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans
Makes 4 cups

Ingredients
1 large egg white
2 cups unsalted pecan halves
2 cups unsalted roasted cashews
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl until foamy. Add the nuts, sugar, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well. Spread the mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are mostly dry but still slightly sticky, about 40 minutes.

Remove the nuts from the oven and stir. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees F. Return the nuts to the oven and bake until crisp, about 30 more minutes. Stir to loosen the nuts from the baking sheet; cool completely on the sheet.