roasted rosemary cashews

Yesterday, gray and dreary, was brightened by having a few friends over for the afternoon. Much talking and munching and bonding with baby Helen, and a little knitting was done. Everyone brought wonderful goodies - homemade rice crispy treats, a baguette with delicious pumpkin butter, cheese & crackers, chocolate truffles, cinnamon flatbread, tomato soup topped with fresh mozzarella, homemade applesauce with vanilla ice cream, apple crisp, and roasted cashews, recipe courtesy of Mom:

1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

I used a 9.5 ounce can of Fisher whole cashews, which are salty already, so didn't add the salt. Also, I ground up some dried rosemary with my mortar & pestle instead of using fresh rosemary. Roasted the cashews in a 9-inch square cake pan at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes because I forgot to set the timer. I think about 15 minutes would have been just about perfect. Melted the butter in the microwave, added the sugar rosemary pepper mixture, then tossed it with the cashews and served immediately. Scrumptious.