Honey Roasted Cashews

I LOVE flavoured nuts - all different types, but I've recently become addicted to Honey Roasted Cashews. The store bought version of these are super sweet and contain a LOT of sugar. I also inadvertently bought some natural cashews, so thought it might be a good idea to try and make my own (and give a more appealing taste to the natural cashews while I'm at it).

These only take about 25 minutes to make and are super simple. An added bonus is that you get to choose the honey you use, so if you want to experiment with different types, then it's really up to you. You might choose something plain and simple or a more floral tasting honey. The choice is yours!

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Let's jump in!

For this recipe you'll need:

• 500g (1lb) natural cashews (you can use salted/roasted if that's all you have)
• 2 heaped tablespoons of honey
• 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 2 heaped tablespoons of unsalted butter
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of caster sugar/granulated sugar

You'll also need this equipment:

• Oven
• Baking Tray(s)
• Baking Paper/Parchment
• Tablespoon
• Teaspoon
• Measuring Cup
• Scales
• Saucepan
• Mixing Bowl

Grab all of your ingredients listed above.

Use baking paper/parchment to line your baking trays. This makes it a little easier to handle, otherwise things get quite sticky.

Then pop your oven on. Your oven should be pre-heated to 170C or 350F.

Add the butter, maple syrup and honey to your saucepan and heat the mixture over a low to medium low heat. Continue to use your spoon to mix the mixture until the butter is completely melted.

As soon as the butter is melted, turn off the heat and remove your saucepan from the burner.

Add the vanilla, salt and cinnamon and mix well until the mixture is well combined (see last photo).

Grab your cashews and pop them in the saucepan with the honey mixture.

Use your spoon to continuously mix the nuts to ensure they are all well coated. This will take a minute or two of continuous mixing. Make sure you are digging and mixing from the bottom of the saucepan. If it's well mixed, you shouldn't see much of the coating mixture in the bottom of the saucepan.

Grab your lined trays and pop the mixture onto them. I had two trays, so I split the mixture - half on each tray. You want to have a single layer of nuts and be able to spread the nuts out well so they roast evenly (see last photo).

Then put your trays into the oven and set a timer for 6 minutes.

Your nuts will start to bake and brown up, as the mixture starts to get a little more toffee like. At the six minute mark, take your tray(s) out of the oven and turn the nuts over. You want to mix the ones on the edge into the middle, the ones in the middle to the outside and really ensure that the lighter ones become a bit more exposed on the edges.

Once you've turned them, put them back into the oven and set the timer for another 6 minutes.

Do the same thing again. Mix the nuts up and make sure that the ones on the edge get into the middle, any on the bottom find their way to the top and make sure it's all well mixed. Pop them back in the oven for the last 6 minutes. Keep an eye on them, as by this stage they will start to darken, but 6 minutes should be OK.

The nuts should have spent a total of 18 minutes in the oven.

Keep the caster/granulated sugar in a clean mixing bowl.

Take the nuts out of the oven after they have spent 18 minutes total in the oven (or when you think they are roasted enough).

BE CAREFUL! The nuts covered in the honey mixture are EXTREMELY HOT. They will burn you if you touch them with your bare hands.

Move the nuts from the tray(s) to the sugar mixing bowl. Once all the nuts are inside, use a big spoon to mix the nuts in the sugar. Because the nuts are so hot, the sugar will melt onto the honey mixture giving them a little more sweetness.

Continue mixing the nuts in the sugar mixture until you notice that all of the sugar has been mixed into the nuts, and you don't see any more sugar granules.

Then spread the nuts back out on the trays and let cool completely.

Once they have cooled, pop them in a serving bowl and enjoy.

You can also store them in an airtight container (but be careful, they won't last long!)