Spiced Almonds

This is a great little snack recipe that I am using at Christmas. It adds a salty snack to all of those sweet ones we usually eat around this time of year. I am having a fairly large group for Christmas dinner and they will need something to munch on until the turkey is done, so I'll put these out with some cookies and whatnot.

This recipe makes about 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole unsalted almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

• Directions

• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl.

  In a small bowl, stir together the cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt.
• Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices into the oil and cook, stirring until warm, about 30 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are warm and the spices are evenly distributed.
  
• Add the hot pepper sauce and stir to distribute. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool before serving.