Absolutely the BEST snack!!

Okay, with the holidays coming up I thought I might share an absolutely FANTASTIC snack I learned a long time ago. It's so easy even a caveman could do it, and everyone who tries it will be begging you for the recipe! Don't give the recipe out though...coz it's a "secret"...mmmkay??

This is not a 'side-dish', but rather a snack for friends and family to enjoy while all the family is together on special occasions. And, once you do this you'll realize you can even control where the crowd gathers because they'll all be gathered around these snacks...it's that good!

So, here's what you do...

Go out and buy the largest can or bag of "Beer Nuts" brand peanuts (don't get the "mix", or almonds, or cashews, just the peanuts), usually this is a 12 oz. can (though some places have the 46 oz. bag). Also buy an equal amount of Planters honey roasted peanuts (other brands will work, but the Planters brand is by far the best for this, I'll explain why in a moment). You will also want to pick up a sleeve of those tiny Dixie drinking cups. That's all the ingredients!

Now, I'm just going to list the instructions which seem too simple to believe, but know in advance there are several tricks here (which I will also explain). You will almost immediately start dreaming up shortcuts, but it's imperative you follow these directions exactly...every time, else it doesn't work right (for some reason).

1. Take 1/2 cup of Beer nuts and mix them with 1/2 cup of the Planters honey roasted nuts. Gently mix them together. You don't want the skins to come off the Beer Nuts, nor the seasonings to mix too much. You just want them evenly distributed.

2. Place the nuts on a microwave safe dinner plate or casserole dish big enough to get them into a single layer.

3. Microwave the peanuts for about 15-20 seconds. You want them to be warm, but not sizzling.

4. Serve in a small snack bowl with a serving spoon and place the dixie cups out for people to spoon their nuts into. Oh, and stand back!

That's all there is to it!

Now for all the tricks and notes...

A. Why does this snack work? It works because of three reasons. First, slightly warming the peanuts brings out some of the oil in the nuts which elevates the savory sweet flavor to the maximum, but leaves the coating on each peanut. Overheating will bring out too much oil and separate the nuts from the seasoning. Second, this snack unlocks and triggers the salty-sweet module in everyone's brain. In fact, this recipe is arguably where the concept of salty-sweet originated. Third, the Beer Nuts and the Planters nuts are different. They're similar, but different. The Beer Nuts are Spanish peanuts with the skins on, and the Planters nuts are honey roasted regular peanuts with the skins off. The Planters nuts have a pronounced sweet and salty flavor, and the Beer Nuts have a very subtle caramel and salty flavor. These two compliment each other when they're warmed.

B. Now, your first thought will probably be...'I'll just combine all the nuts ahead of time, and then heat small batches of the mixture'. DON'T DO IT!! Why? Because mixing the nuts ahead of time, for some reason, doesn't turn out as well. The flavors of the nuts blend, and I think it has something to due with the different sugars.

C. Can I make more than just 1/2 cup of each at a time? Yes, you can, BUT...you want to make sure that whatever portion size you make is small enough that everyone gets some while they're still warm, hence the small batch size. If you want to make a little larger batch, just make sure your portions are exactly 50-50. Just remember, it's better to make several small batches of this treat instead of trying to make one large batch to last all day.

D. Why the tiny dixie drinking cups? Two reasons. Keeps people from grabbing handfuls at a time (well, most people). Also keeps peoples mitts out of the nuts. And most importantly, you'll probably need to make two (or fifty) more batches, and each time people stick their grubby mitts in the bowl it just gets recycled and compounded on the next batch.

E. Where did you learn this recipe? When I was in college I worked as a bartender at a popular bar. There was this old-time bartender who had actually been to a professional bartending school (I didn't even know there was such a thing). He had all sorts of tricks he'd learned over the years. This was one of them. He got the owner of the bar to buy a display warmer for the bar. He had bulk bags of both Beer Nuts and honey roasted peanuts (which were actually new at the time). He would take about a pound of each and mix them together and put them in the display warmer. I'm not kidding when I say, people used come into the bar just for these peanuts, and they'd line up to get 'em!

He had this little scoop and he'd scoop a small amount into a small cup and sell it for a buck. They'd fly out of that display, until they were gone. He would make a fuss about letting them get warm before he'd serve any. He 'might' make a second batch sometimes, but he never made enough to last all night (intentionally). If he made a second batch, he'd also make a big fuss about allowing them to get warm first. When they were gone, they were gone. It was a psychological thing. And, he never let anyone know the recipe. He's long since passed, and I think he'd be happy to know someone remembered his little trick for this most excellent snack. Thanks, LeMond! I never forgot, man!

ETA - I also think the smell of the fragrant peanuts and their seasoning upped the anticipation and enjoyment factor. I've made this recipe for years and it's always a smash hit.

On a side note, one of the other things which might pop into your mind is...can I do this with other nuts?

The answer is yes and no. Over the years I've experimented with other types of nuts, but honestly none have worked out as great as this recipe. Logical choices are nuts like almonds and cashews (both of which, incidentally, Beer Nuts brand offers).

Cashews are too soft and too sweet so they kind of throw off the texture and salty-sweet balance to the sweet side.

Almonds are much harder, so again there's a texture mismatch. And almonds have a really pronounced crisp flavor whereas the peanuts have a savory element to them, and it doesn't work.

However, you can sort of make this same concept work if you use all the same nut. So, cashews with cashews and/or almonds with almonds. Personally, I don't really care for those, but some might.

What about some of the party mixes? Well, if you try to use one of these then you start getting into weird stuff happening when you microwave them. Pretzels, for example, don't microwave well. And those little sesame things get weird too, and greasy.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
On a side note, one of the other things which might pop into your mind is...can I do this with other nuts?

The answer is yes and no.

Oh well, so much for nuking 95% of the people on this site.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Way too salty!

No sweet at all, and certainly no savory.

(95% that is)

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
Gordon Bennett!!!! What's wrong with a bacon sandwich? Or a jam and banana sandwich, which I just had.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

If I brought out warm nuts as our Thanksgiving snack, my husband would give me the same look we gave
our Canadian friends that volunteered to bring hot wings to our Superbowl party (filled with New Yorkers & people from Chicago mind you). They proudly marched in with a gigantic platter of absolutely naked baked chicken, you know, because American hot wings were too spicy! I seriously thought there was going to be a murder in my house that night.

Hot nuts would garner the same response, in our house the only acceptable Thanksgiving snack is a charcuterie tray.
Here in Swissconsin, there better be some cheese somewhere!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That is some serious mansplaining, but Imma give it a try.

2nd.

WOW...just forget about this.

I thought it might be fun, but I guess not.

Hey, don't make this recipe. It sucks.

I spent too much time "mansplaining" it all.

It's nothing. Please never make it. I'm sorry for posting it to begin with.

This was a bad idea.

I apologize.

Never make this; you wont like it, your friends will hate it and you'll just be left with some stupid nuts nobody wants to eat.

It's all good...no worries.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Not sure about the others, but my post was tongue in cheek.
Hey sorry if my post came on a little mean, didn't intend to be mean about your warm nuts!
I know sometimes these things don't translate well online.

We are not a big nut eating family. I literally had to throw away jars of peanut butter because it
spoils before it gets used. That's probably pretty rare for most folks.
I'm sure your warm nut recipe is awesome for people that like them.

Sooo… yum! I'd love to try this.
We love nuts and we love snacks but I wonder what I could use instead of honey? Any ideas?