Mexican Chili-Lime Peanuts

There's something about the holidays that makes me want nuts to snack on. I blame The Nutcracker, and the fact that the only time we ever got to have nuts when I was a kid was at Christmas. My sister and I once very carefully cracked each one open without breaking the shells (which mostly only worked with walnuts), then wrote out "fortunes" on slips of paper, stuck them inside, and glued the shells back together. Then they got mixed into the bowl and we waited until someone opened one, giggling hysterically the whole time. I love my family for pretending not to know and playing along!

OK, sorry... I'm back from my trip down memory lane. These are Mexican Chili-Lime Peanuts, and the recipe is not mine. I got it from Recipezazz.com.

I had to improvise slightly, because I wanted to make a double batch. As it turned out, I was almost out of chili powder. I have no idea how the heck that happens... I use it all the time, and typically I always buy a new one when I get down to less than 1/4 bottle. Not this time. So I added a packet of chili seasoning, and used more cayenne pepper.

First step is to combine all ingredients except the peanuts and mix well. A whisk probably would have worked better, but I used a spoon and took the extra couple of minutes. And of course I had to taste it before I added the peanuts! It was amazing. Just the right mixture of lime and hot, almost like the spice mix on those Blue Diamond chili lime almonds (which I love).

Once you've tossed the peanuts in the liquid long enough to completely coat them, spread them out in a thin layer on a parchment paper covered baking sheet with sides. Since I was doing two pounds of peanuts, I used my jelly roll pan and it was about perfect.

From there, it's into the oven. The recipe says it should take 30-35 minutes for them to get dry, and you should stir every 10 minutes. Mine took more like 45-50 minutes, and in the process the peanuts lost their crunch. I'm thinking maybe the oven temperature should be increased, which should get them done in a shorter length of time and maybe also leave them crunchy like they were when I started.

I let them cool in the pan for a couple of hours while I was doing other things. They ended up being pretty OK, but I wasn't overly impressed. Based on how the liquid tasted, I expected more flavour in the finished product and it just wasn't there. They're not bad, but they don't give a strong flavour of either chili or lime, except in some places. Still, not a bad snack food, and one I'd be willing to try again with modifications (and a smaller quantity). The person who posted the recipe did tell me she makes hers in a toaster oven instead of a regular oven, so that could make a difference as well.

Shown here as I served them, in a bowl with the Fire-and-Ice Nut Mix I posted the other day.

Mexican Chili-Lime Peanuts

Serves 18

3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt (omit if using salted peanuts)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
3 cups peanuts, unsalted (cocktail)

Serving Size: 1 (84.2 g)

Calories 341.7

Total Fat - 28.8 g

Saturated Fat - 4.8 g

Cholesterol - 0 mg

Sodium - 634.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate - 12.9 g

Dietary Fiber - 6.8 g

Sugars - 3.4 g

Protein - 15.7 g

Again, not my recipe. This one comes to us from Recipezazz.com.

*I'm going to edit this, because last night I made a fabulous discovery! After leaving the peanuts sealed in a Ziploc bag for almost a week, they're WAY better! They're hard, they're crunchy, the flavour shines through... they're amazing! So the trick isn't anything I thought it was, it's to make them a week before you want to serve them. Good to know!