Union Square Cafe's Bar Nuts

On late afternoons Union Square in NYC will serve these amazing nuts at the bar-- I found this adaption of the recipe from Nigella Lawson a few years ago and -they- are- totally addictive. I like taking them to parties. It's an easy recipe and best served hot, but frankly I eat them cold too, and they are great! I have variations to the recipe which are noted below.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (18oz) assorted unsalted nuts (I use almonds, pecan halves, whole cashews, shelled pistachios, macadamias, peanuts.) You can also use Brazil, hazelnuts etc.. basically whatever you like.

2 T. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves ( I use 1/2 t. dried, which I grind fine in a spice grinder, because we don't like strong rosemary in things- you could chop it fine as well)

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I usually double this)

2 t. brown sugar (I usually double this as well)

2 t. sea or kosher salt

1 T. melted butter (I use 1-2 T)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss nuts in large bowl to mix them up and then spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast in the oven until lightly golden brown, about 10 min. In a large bowl, combine spices, salt and melted butter. Basically, what I look for, is a soft burn in the throat and a hit of sweetness from the sugar. So if I don't get enough heat, I'll sprinkle in a bit more cayenne. It's a very flexible recipe. Toss the nuts in the spiced butter really well, then serve warm and watch the bowl disappear... ;)