Quick Sweet 'n Salty Nuts

Use any liquid sweetener for this easy recipe--honey, rice syrup, barley malt syrup, maple syrup, or agave nectar. I generally use agave nectar because it has a very clean "white sugar" taste without any other side flavors and it has a low glycemic index. The other sweeteners, though, add their own interesting flavors. Use whatever suits your fancy at the moment! We often make walnuts with agave nectar and salt because they are soooo good! Maple walnuts and pecans are very yummy! And if you like "honey-roasted" nuts, you can make your own at home with organic ingredients.

1. Heat your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place a sheet of parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. This is very important as the melted sugar will stick to the pan like glue.
3. Lay out the nuts in a single layer and push them all close together.
4. Drizzle the liquid sweetener over the top of the nuts. Cover them well, but you don't have to completely cover them, as the sweetener will melt. Stir the nuts to coat them as best you can, but again, they don't need to be completely coated.
5. Place the coated nuts in the oven and roast them for about 10 minutes. The longer you heat the sweetener, the crunchier it will get, but take care not to burn it. Each sweetener takes a different amount of time. Agave will not get crunchy, but makes a great gooey treat.
6. Remove the nuts from the oven and sprinkle with fine sea salt.

VARIATIONS--You can vary the flavor of these nuts by adding any spices you like--cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom...even chili power for sweet 'n spicy nuts--flavoring extracts, citrus zests, etc. Add these before baking.