Rosemary Cashews

I really love the holiday baking season. Today I didn't make many things, but I did get in some bread, sage-lemon shortbread and these herbiliciously good cashews. You will find a number of recipes out there for Rosemary Cashews, so allow me to add one more to the mix. I use two specific ingredients - *fresh* rosemary (don't use dried for this recipe) and hot smoked paprika. Many recipes use cayenne, but I prefer the smoky deep flavor of the paprika with its hint of heat rather than the back of the tongue grab that cayenne can have.

Rosemary Cashews

1 pound unsalted cashews (if using raw, toast longer than suggested below)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

Heat the cashews in a 350 degree oven until thoroughly warm (about 10 minutes- again, longer if using raw). Melt butter in a sauce pan and stir in the rest of the ingredients once melted. Remove cashews from the oven and while both mixtures are still warm, toss together. Cool, store in an air-tight container. It's worth doubling the recipe if you like cashews - they will go quick!

Holiday Baking

While each season has its amazing opportunities to cook dishes that match the temperatures and local ingredients, the Christmas season is my favorite. It's not just all the soups, stews, curries, risottos, and roasted vegetables, which are great fun, it's the baking that I don't do at other times of the year. Today I'm pondering what delicious treats I will bake this season. I have lots of favorites, so one must choose or I'd never make it to my day job. I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you. I'd love to hear what your favorites are as well!

I've posted a few in the past. My most recent favorite was the Bourbon Bacon Pecan Salted Caramel Popcorn. This was a riff on an old standard that a friend gave me years ago, which was Sesame Ginger Popcorn, which used cashews and sesame seeds instead of pecans, sesame oil instead of bacon fat, and several tablespoons of freshly chopped ginger. 

A favorite recipe from my childhood was the Crème Wafers. They are so light and airy they melt in your  mouth.  You can fill them with colored buttercream for the season and/or top with colored sugars.

I also favor chocolate treats - a new one I want to try is from food52: Homemade Peanut Butter Cups. I've made something similar from The Silver Palate Cookbook. They have a Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites recipe that is made in a jelly roll pan with the peanut mixture on the bottom and chocolate on top then cut into squares. They are fabulous and a grown up version of the Reese's peanut butter cup. I'm curious how the food52 recipe compares.

Truffles are also an easy option and wonderfully melt in the mouth - the perfect small ending to any meal. I love the recipe in The Joy of Chocolate cookbook. It takes very few ingredients and one can substitute any favorite liqueur for the Grand Marnier in the recipe. I tend to use Chambord, a black raspberry liqueur. I've also used mint, tangerine, coffee, hazelnut liqueurs in the past. They have all turned out delicious, so pick what suits your palate.

And then there are shortbread cookies. I love the lemon sage shortbread recipe that generated one of my previous posts. One can substitute orange or lime zest and other herbs than sage. Mix and match! I tried mint instead of sage and dipped half the cookie in chocolate. It was like a shortbread Andes mint.

I could go on...there's biscotti, spiced nuts, date bars, and fig cookies...and then there are the breads and cakes. My, oh my. Must post more recipes!