Serve the Guests the Nuts
Every year the package would come. Dollar-store tins filled with date pinwheel cookies, red- and green-dipped pretzels, and, best of all, what we lovingly called “Dad’s Nuts.”
My partner’s dad made candied (but not too sweet) pecans that were cooked low and slow so that the sugar hardened around them like a clear shellac. Yet they were properly salty, too. No matter what size tin arrived, those disappeared first, and every time we wanted some, we’d say, “Can you pass Dad’s nuts?” Dumb jokes. Nobody laughs, which makes it even better. (They pair exceptionally well with apple cider Old-Fashioneds, too.)
I’m not a huge traditionalist. But damn, do I love little gestures, like the way we pass tins around a family. Some years I’ll reuse the tins and give them to loved ones, packed with cheese sablés, grapefruit peels, or leek scones. The tins are cheap, but it’s the principle. It’s recycling at its jolliest. Over time, the tins get scratched and have tattoos from old Scotch tape. They are simply a vessel. What’s inside is the love. And that can be simple, too.
So, then the thing happens. My father-in-law passes on to the next life. You better believe I mentioned “dad’s nuts” in that eulogy! To a crowd of teary-eyed family.
I needed to keep these nuts going. I asked around for the recipe, and what came through was a sparse document with a suspiciously low measurement of salt and a shocking plot twist. Atop the doc, the recipe title: Grandma Miller’s Pecans.
So, all along, they were actually Grandma’s Nuts.
Dad’s Nuts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (a half stick), melted
¼ cup lite corn syrup (or maple syrup)
1 tsp salt (or 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne or 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (the fat of the nuts can take it)
1 lb. pecans or whatever turns you on
Flaky salt to top
Optional add-ins: 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary. Black pepper. Bloomed ½ teaspoon of saffron. Edible glitter.
Preheat the oven to 250. Yes, 250! We’re taking it low and slow today. Mix melted butter with the syrup, salt, and spices in a big bowl. Add the pecans and mix it all nice with a spatula.
Spread the saucy nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for an hour, stirring the nuts every 15 minutes or so. The nuts will darken and smell lovely as the sugar begins to harden. It make take more than hour because ovens are weird, but keep checking every 10 minutes so they don’t burn. Add a flourish of flaky salt at the last turn or when you take them out of the oven. They’ll crisp up as they cool, so don’t panic if they still look a bit sticky at the end.
Package in recycled tins, if you please.
This is a great reminder that it’s also the perfect time of year to make a martini and re-watch The Thin Man.
P.S. Three starters to serve at a dinner party, and eight food writers share their holiday cookies.