Cajun Spiced Almonds

As I noted last month, Caitlin painstakingly prepared a beautiful array of signs, favors, and gifts for the guests of our wedding.  Among the items, she created over twenty-five welcome bags, each adorned with a hand-painted welcome tag and boasting a sixteen-page booklet of our favorite recipes.

The booklet featured line drawings of several photos from this blog, and guided our guests through meaningful recipes that the two of us had shared.  Among the recipes, there was one for Gooey Butter Cake, a St. Louis original, and an ode to the city where we first met; Lemon Yogurt Cake, a recipe that featured that lemon flavor I love; Sea Salt Caramels, a reminder of our trip to San Francisco together; White Peach Italian Ice, a summer treat that capped the end to a barbeque Caitlin and I hosted, and a tribute to an ice served by one of my favorite dessert shops growing up; and this recipe for Cajun Spiced Almonds, a nod to a groom who grew up near Cajun-country.

Our first effort at these Cajun Spiced Almonds lacked the requisite spice.  We upped the ante in a second batch, doubling the spice quantities and adding egg white to help bind the spices to the nuts.  This batch proved up to its billing!

CAJUN SPICED ALMONDS

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
YIELD: 2 cups

WHAT TO GRAB:

2 cups almonds (pecans would be equally good)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 egg white

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Beat egg white with one tablespoon water.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the egg white, Worcestershire, Tabasco, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and almonds.  Mix well.

3.  Once the nuts are well-coated, spread the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.  After 15 minutes, remove the pan and sprinkle salt over the warm nuts.

4.  Cool to room temperature and enjoy!