Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews are baked with cocoa and dark chocolate. They also contain a bit of brown sugar, some heat in the form of cayenne and 3 bags of chai tea. Oh. And dried cherries. Hmmm. They might be a bit addicting.

Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews look maybe not so pretty. But they taste pretty. Pretty good pretty. Manservant looked at them and asked me how could I get a good photo of something that looks like it should be on the floor of the forest. This, as he proceeded to munch away and kept grabbing for more. He even suggested that I should have a friend of mine come over and identify them. Could they belong to an antelope or a coyote? Perhaps a large squirrel. Hah Hah Manservant. The joke is on you. I promptly hid them in the depths of the pantry until I had time to get a photo; not being sure if there would be any left if they remained on the counter.

I know there are some bloggers out there that will only post photos of pretty food and let’s face it. Chocolate Chai spicy cashews are not naturally pretty. However they taste pretty good. But I told you that already. I almost called them Mole cashews because they taste a lot like a rich mole. But it came to me as I was viewing the original recipe from Serious Eats that the seasonings they were calling for were similar to what’s contained in chai tea. So I simplified and dumped in 3 bags of chai tea.

These cashews are made without any butter or oil. Most roasted nuts contain one or the other. These still retain their crunch and have a seriously rich flavor. They would be perfect with a glass of red wine or even some bourbon. I also added some dried Montmorency tart cherries and loved the sweet flavor they added. They are hard to spot in these dark chocolate clusters but these cherries make the chocolate chai spicy cashews decadent. As if they weren’t already.

So if you are brave enough to make something that Manservant laughed at, but totally devoured…almost like a wild coyote I could say…then these tasty dark morsels are for you. Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews are perfect for happy hour. Or perfect for an afternoon pick me up. Just don’t drop any on the floor. Who knows? Someone might think there’s a bear in the house!

A few more recipes with nuts:

Spicy Candied Nuts from Foolproof Living

Ranch Roasted Nuts Snack Mix from It’s Yummi 

And last but not least this glorious tart…

Bourbon and Butterscotch Mixed Nut Tart from Saving Room for Dessert

And 25 recipes with nuts! from Sumptuous Spoonfuls!

And there is more:

Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Popcorn 

Vietnamese Style Chex Mix

Easy Chocolate Peanut Layer Bars

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Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews

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• Author: Abbe Odenwalder
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 - 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Cups
• Category: Snacks
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews are baked with cocoa and dark chocolate. They also contain a bit of brown sugar, some heat in the form of cayenne and 3 bags of chai tea. Oh. And dried cherries. Should I mention they are addicting?

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Ingredients

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1/4 c cocoa powder

2 T finely grated dark chocolate

2 t kosher salt

1/2 t cayenne pepper

2 large egg whites

3 chai tea bags

4 c raw cashews

1 c dried Montmorency cherries soaked 5 minutes in hot water

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 with rack in middle position. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with oil or nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate, salt, cayenne and the three bags of tea.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until slightly foamy. Stir in tea mixture and stir until a smooth batter forms. Fold in cashews.

Spread cashews on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. In the mixing bowl that the cashews came from toss cherries with remaining batter. (There is usually a bit left in the bowl.) Now add to the cashews and bake for about 10-15 minutes more or until nuts are lightly toasted and mixture is dry.

Remove from oven and let cool, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking and clumping. Store nuts in an airtight container.

Keywords: nuts, chai