Making honey-roasted macadamia nuts involves just that -- roasting the nuts in the oven with honey. Two approaches involve slightly different combinations of ingredients. The first involves butter and more of a genuine roasting technique. The other uses sugar in addition to honey and results in a crunchier baked-on glaze. Both methods are easy to customize with your own blend of seasonings.
For genuine honey-roasted macadamia nuts, use about 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 to 3 tablespoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of salt for every pound -- approximately 3 cups -- of unroasted, unsalted macadamia nuts. Use the following method to combine and cook the ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the honey and butter in a small saucepan. Set the pan over medium-low heat and occasionally stir or swirl the mixture until the butter has melted. This should only take a few minutes. Turn off the heat.
Spread the macadamia nuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Use more than one cookie sheet if necessary.
Pour the melted butter and honey mixture evenly over the nuts. Spread the nuts around with a fork or spoon until they are coated with the mixture.
Put the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and roast the nuts for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir the nuts every five to 10 minutes as they cook.
Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven when the honey-roasted nuts look golden. Sprinkle them with salt and leave them to cool.
Tips
If you have macadamia nuts that are already salted, just omit the additional salt from the list of ingredients.
Tossing macadamias with honey and a sugar coating before roasting them gives the nuts a shell-like glaze. These nuts are sweeter and crunchier than traditional honey-roasted macadamias. For every pound of nuts, use 1/2 cup each of honey and sugar, plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Heat the honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it's bubbling.
Mix the sugar with the salt in a large bowl.
Turn off the heat under the honey and add the macadamia nuts to the pan. Toss the nuts around in the honey with a spoon until they're coated.
Pour the honey-coated nuts out of the saucepan and into the bowl of sugar and salt. Toss the nuts around with a spoon or fork until they are evenly and thoroughly coated with the sugar. Work quickly while the honey is still warm and viscous.
Spread the honey- and sugar-coated macadamia nuts in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Separate any clumps of nuts.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the nuts for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir the nuts and break apart any clumps every five to 10 minutes.
Pull the macadamia nuts out of the oven when the glaze is golden. Let them cool and harden before handling them. Break apart any stuck-together clumps.
Customize honey-roasted or honey-glazed macadamia nuts by adding sweet or savory seasonings before baking. Use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice for the holiday season. If you enjoy sweet and savory combinations, consider paprika, garlic powder or chili powder. Garlicky habanero macadamia nuts is a hot and spicy savory version using fresh seasonings and olive oil instead of butter.
Tips
Store honey-roasted and honey-glazed macadamia nuts in an airtight container for one to two weeks.
Use the same methods with any other nuts or a mixture of nuts. Smaller nuts might not take as long to roast, so keep your eye on them and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Check Out These Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
Gallery (24 photos)
