Sweet & Spicy Nuts

We had a lovely bottle of wine that our friends brought over one night and just a little munching on these nuts after our dinner was perfect....except you can't eat just one!!   Make these ahead - day before or early on.

1 egg white
2 cups nuts in total - I use whatever is in the house - walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds 
6 tbsp gran white sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup craisins or raisins
 1/2 tsp salt or 1 tsp kosher salt
Preheat oven to 325F.
Beat egg white till smooth.  Add nuts. Stir to coat evenly in medium size bowl.
In small separate bowl add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - mix then add to the nuts and mix again.  Spread coated nuts onto a nonstick baking sheet or use parchment paper on the baking sheet.  Into the oven at 325F for 20 minutes, move and flip them a couple of times.

Remove from oven, and dump into a dry medium size bowl.  Add craisins or raisins and salt right away.  Allow you nut mixture to cool for a couple of hours.  You can keep these in an airtight container if you can stop eating them.

Cranberry Cashew Biscotti

Doesn't it always amaze you how expensive these cookies are at Starbucks, individually wrapped for about $1.50?  Wow my cookie jar is a pot of gold.   My hubby thinks they are great if you want to have a visit to the dentist, he never dunks them in his coffee or tea since he is usually having one when he walks into the kitchen.....   If you want to keep them a bit softer just put a slice of bread inside the container.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup gran sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs mixed with fork in a bowl

1 tsp finely grated lemon or lime zest

2/3 cup whole cashews - with or without salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a large air bake cookie sheet. Have about a foot piece of parchment paper ready  with a small handful of flour on top.

Combine flour sugar and baking powder in large bowl.  Add 3 eggs with mixer.  Dough needs to come together.  If you find it does not compact, you can mix another egg and add slowly and just enough to make the dough thick.  With spatula fold in the zest, cashews and dried cranberries.

Turn out the dough onto the parchment paper and make a big ball and slice in half.  With your hands flatten each piece on the paper into 2 ovals.  Make the dough about 3 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch thick.  Using a flipper move each dough piece onto the cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes till slightly golden on top.   Remove cookie sheet from oven and let rest about 20 minutes.  Move each piece to a cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch cookies.  Put each cookie back onto the cookie sheet laying flat, a large pan will be full.  Bake again for 20 minutes at 350F.  Remove and let cool before storing in cookie jar.