Midweek Munchies: Maple-Chili Peanuts

I've had the same half-empty (or is it half-full?  I guess it depends on where you fall on the optimism spectrum.) bag of peanuts sitting in my refrigerator since I used them to make a peanut sauce in the spring, and tonight I decided to finally do something with them.  See, I'm a bit of a compulsive cleaner.  So if something has overstayed its welcome in my fridge (or closet, desk drawer, etc.), it's time to either make use of it or give it the boot.  Luckily for these peanuts, I was feeling generous tonight and so I saved them from a sad and certain death at the bottom of the trash bin.

I think this preparation would work great with other nuts (or mixed nuts, if you're fancy fancy like that), so don't feel you must limit yourself to peanuts.  There's a whole variety of nuts out there in the world - and how!

Maple-Chili Roasted Peanuts
(makes 2 cups)


2 cups (8 ounces) shelled peanut halves
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Toss ingredients until the peanuts are evenly coated and spread in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes.  Let cool before serving or storing in an airtight container.

Chewy, gooey good stuff

As some of you may know, my twin bro Paul just started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") that runs up through California from the border of Mexico to the border of British Columbia, Canada.  It's a pretty big undertaking, and so far he's rocking it!  He started a blog that he's updating along the way, which you can find here.  Check it out!

These bars will hopefully serve as worthy fuel for Paul while on the trail:

Chewy Fruit & Nut Bars (printable version)
(makes 16)

1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, 8-10 minutes

Warm the honey until it has the consistency of thin syrup.  In a food processor pulse the honey, dates, cinnamon and oats until everything is coarsely chopped.

Scrape the oat mixture into a medium bowl and break up any clumps of dates.  Stir in the nuts, apricots and chocolate chips.  Squeeze the mixture into a ball.  Line an 11 by 7 inch glass baking dish (or something of similar volume) with parchment paper and lightly grease.  Using wet hands, pat the mixture firmly into the baking dish in the shape of a rectangle.

Freeze until the rectangle is firm enough to cut, about 30 minutes.  Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into 16 bars (2 by 8).  Wrap the bars individually and let stand at least a day (they get chewier as they sit).  These keep well, either at room temp, refrigerated, or frozen.