Fruit and Nut Holiday Mix

I've seen this mix advertised recently as people start thinking about holiday treats.  It's a bit pricey (about $45 for three 16 oz jars) and when I read the comments, the biggest complaint was about the proportion of ingredients....buyers felt the mix was primarily almonds and cranberries, with very, very few macadamias and cashews.  So I just decided to make my own.

A few notes:  the original mix calls for cinnamon-spiced pecans.  So I found several recipes and sort of mixed them together.  However, I prefer my own Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans which are crisper and has a scooch more spice.  I'll list both recipes below.  You won't go wrong with either of them.  Also, the original mix calls for roasted almonds, but I had a container of cocoa-dusted Emerald-brand almonds in the freezer so I used them (yes, Mr. Repairman!!!!  More out of the freezer!)  And with the amount of fruit vs. nuts, I'm pretty much able to get one piece of fruit to one nut...making that wonderful sweet/savory combo.

I also found some really nice dried cherries.  While I like Craisins (dried cranberries), they tend to be a tad dry and extremely chewy.  The cherries I found (Sunsweet brand Dried Morella Cherries) were much softer and had a nice pull to them.  I found them in the same snack area with raisins and Craisins.

This recipe made about 10 cups (about 80 oz) versus the 48 oz of the other stuff for about $20.....plus the mix was much more well-proportioned.....more of the good stuff!  Put some in some pretty holiday containers with a pretty bow and this would make a great gift come December.

FRUIT and NUT HOLIDAY MIX (makes about 10 cups)

5 oz dried cranberries (about 1 cup)
5 oz dried cherries (about 1 cup)
8 oz roasted almonds (about 1 1/2 cups)
8 oz spiced pecans (about 2 1/2 cups), recipes below
6 oz macadamia nuts (aoubt 1 cup)
10 oz cashews (about 2 cups)

Mix everything together.  Store in an air-tight container.

CINNAMON-SPICED PECANS (makes about 2 1/2 cups)

1/2 pound pecan halves
1 egg white
1 tsp water
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 225F.  In a 9x13 baking dish, place the butter.  Put dish in oven while it is preheating.

Whisk egg white and water until frothy.  Add pecans and stir until completely coated.

In another bowl, mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.  Add pecans and stir until completely coated.

Pour pecans into baking dish.  Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Place baked pecans onto cookie sheet and let cool until hardened.

SWEET and SPICY CANDIED PECANS (makes 3 cups)

6 Tbsp corn syrup
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
3 cups pecan halves

Combine corn syrup with the next 5 ingredients; mix well in a large bowl.  Add pecans and stir gently to coat.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.  Spread on baking sheet.

Bake at 350F for 2 1/2 (5 for me) minutes, then, using a fork, stir to coat with mixture and baking again until pecans are golden and coating is bubbly, about 2-3 (5-10 for me)minutes more.  Transfer to a piece of foil and quickly separate pecans with a fork.  Cool and then store in an air-tight container.  (These will keep in the freezer for, well, just about forever....maybe one of my problems!)