Let us begin by saying that these nuts are so highly addictive that our taste-testers gobbled up the first batch before we could get a photo of it. We held them off the second batch with a flat whisk!

What makes them taste so darn good? We coat them in a frothy egg batter laced with vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and sweet paprika and then bake them in a low oven until they’re fragrant — and the egg has formed a golden crust. The result is a superbly crunchy nut, perfectly sweet and spicy with just a hint of peppery heat.

One of our tasters loved them so much, she wanted to pour milk over them and eat them for breakfast. We think they might be better suited to cocktails or family game night (or, really, binging Netflix all by yourself). Our tip: Bake an extra batch, so you can have some for New Year’s Eve and leave some on Mom’s porch — and still have leftovers. They’ll make an amazing workday snack!

Ingredients

4 cups mixed nuts of your choice, e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cashews
¼ cup seeds of your choice, e.g., pepitas or sunflower
1 large egg white
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp water
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne
½ tsp sweet paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg white, vanilla extract, and water and whisk until frothy.
3. Add the sugars, cinnamon, salt, cayenne, and paprika to the bowl and gently whisk together.
4. Fold the nuts into the egg mixture with a rubber spatula.
5. Transfer mixture to the baking sheet, spread out evenly, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring halfway through so that the nuts don’t stick together.
6. Remove from oven, and slide the parchment paper with the nuts onto the countertop to stop the cooking process and cool the nuts faster.
7. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.