Chinese 5-spice powder

vegan, gluten-free, grain-free
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Adapted from a recipe from The Woks of Life

Once you start munching on these, it is really hard to stop! They're my favorite spicy-sweet-crunchy snack! They're great as a hold-me-over between meals, appetizer, dessert, or as a delicious salad topper. If you're still not convinced, they come together in less than 30 minutes and make the house smell amazing. 

Serves: 9 / Active time: 5 minutes / Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon ground Chinese cassia cinnamon(1 part)
• ▢2 tablespoons fennel seeds (2 parts)
• ▢1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (1 part)
• ▢1 teaspoon cloves (1/3 part)
• ▢4 star anise (for calculations, consider this equivalent to 1 part)
• ▢1 tablespoon sand ginger powder (1 part; equivalent to about 4 grams dried sand ginger slices, optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.​
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the nuts out evenly on the sheet.
3. In a small bowl (can use same bowl you measured nuts in), combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, coriander, ginger, pepper, allspice, turmeric, and cayenne, and whisk well. 
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil and maple syrup/agave nectar.
5. After oven has preheated, roast nuts for 6-7 minutes, and then add them to the bowl with the oil and maple syrup. Toss to coat.
6. Next, add the spice mixture to the nuts, and toss to coat. Pour the mixture back on the parchment-lined sheet, spread out evenly, place back into the oven, and set timer for 10 minutes.
7. After roasting 10 minutes, stir nuts and place back in the oven for 5 more minutes.
8. Meanwhile, peel the orange rind into small curls using a vegetable peeler or paring knife. 
9. When the nuts have finished roasting, remove from oven and toss with orange peels directly on the hot pan.
10. Let cool completely on the pan, then discard orange peels and taste nuts, adding more spices to your liking.**
11. Transfer nuts to a bowl and serve, or transfer to an airtight container for storage.***

*I like using a mix of pecans, walnuts, and cashews, but feel free to use whatever nuts you have on hand.
**This is the hard part because if you're like me, you'll probably want to eat the entire batch right off the pan!
***Will keep for up to 2 weeks stored tightly sealed at room temperature.