NYE - Spiced Nuts and Cheese Balls

Big plans this NYE - staying in and watching movies. My fellow Martha lover, Molly, came over tonight to make some NYE appetizers. We made cranberry cheddar cheese balls, rosemary spiced nuts and butter toffee nuts. Everything turned out great!

Here's Molly mixing the butter toffee nuts!

They were subtly sweet, but seriously addictive.

Butter Toffee Nuts Recipe:

2 egg whites

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to taste

1 1/2 pounds of peanuts (or mixed nuts)

Preheat oven to 275 F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Using an electic mixer, place egg whites into a large bowl big enough to accomodate the nuts. Beat until they while form soft peaks when beaters are lifted.

Add brown sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is still and glossy. With a large spatula, stir in melted butter. Gently fold nuts into mixture until they are evenly coated. Add spice mixture.

Spread coated nuts evenly on foil-lined pan. Bake about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to keep nuts separate, until meringue is dry and nuts are crunchy. Let cool in pan.

Pour nuts into covered containers and store up to 2 months at room temperature.

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

These definitely have an after kick. The fresh rosemary smells so good while cooking and the salty/spicy taste is perfect!

Rosemary Spiced Nuts Recipe:

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp each - cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 - 1/2 pounds mixed nuts

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, spices, sugar and rosemary. Add nuts and stir to coat. Spread evenly in foil-lined pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool in pan, stirring occasionally to keep separate. Store cooled nuts in covered containers.

Cranberry Cheddar Cheese Ball

Though the original recipe didn't call for it, we added a bit of spice to give this cheese a kick. The sweet cranberries on the outside keep it tame enough to eat.

Cranberry Cheddar Cheese Ball Recipe:

1/3 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 pkg light cream cheese (8oz)

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash of salt and pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded

2 tbsp. cranberry chutney

3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Put butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, salt and pepper into the bowl of an electic mixer; mix until combined. Stir cheddar cheese and chutney into the mixture. Form into a ball. Roll in cranberries to coat. Wrap in cling wrap and refridgerate till firm. If not using immediately, refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Kitten Mittens

Thanks to YouTube I learned how to crochet. This was my first project. As you can see, I haven't fully mastered the art of the mitten. The original pattern had pink paw pads, but I ran out of time to put all the details on them. Paired the hat and mittens with the book Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone. Makes a cute gift for a two year old.