Chili Lime Peanuts

I lived in a small town in Guatemala a few years ago, teaching English at a nicely sized private school. The town was very small, not many people had vehicles, so much of the transportation was done on the old feet. You would think that walking so much would have helped me lose weight, but I gained almost 10 pounds while I was there. Most was due to the excellent food I ate on a daily basis, cooked by the staff of the guest house I was staying at, but a majority was due to the country's obsession with snack foods.

Almost every activity or event is capped off by walking to the local store and buying a snack or treat of some sort. And we're not just talking the same old chips and cookies we have here. They have all sorts of different flavors of things, but the most prevalent and my favorite is the Chili Lime flavor.Almost everything comes in Chili Lime flavor, from Doritos to Fritos to candy to cookies. They even sprinkle a chili lime seasoning on their fruits, which is actually really delicious.

I wanted to make a new glazed nut to add to my growing list and decided to pay some homage to perhaps one of the greatest combination of flavors. Like the rest of the glazed nuts (check after the recipe for more links), these take about 20 minutes to make. They are the perfect food for snacking and would be a great little nibbly to serve guests.

Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of crushed red pepper. The 1 tsp will give you about a 2.5 out of 5 on the 28 Cooks' Hot-o-Meter.



Chili Lime Peanuts
1 c dry roasted unsalted peanuts
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp crushed red pepper
zest of 2 limes

In large pan, combine peanuts and sugar over medium high heat. Stir frequently until sugar starts to melt. Lower heat, and stir continuously for 10 minutes, or until sugar starts to fully melt and cover nuts. Add pepper and continue to cook for an additional 30 seconds, until nuts are well glazed and pepper is well mixed in. Add lime zest and stir until well mixed. Pour onto sheet of wax paper on a cooling rack and spread out. Allow to cool. Store in tightly-sealed container.

Looking for more?? Try these:
*Lemon Pepper Cashews
*Jasmine Tea and Ginger Almonds
*Chili Chai Walnuts
*Sweet and Spicy Walnuts
*Green Tea Wasabi Almonds