Stovetop Spiced Pistachios

Hello from Alaska! Hello with a mouthful of these stovetop spiced pistachios.

I’m trying to stay away from the interthings for a few days, but wanted to throw out this snack that I threw together at the last minute to keep me fed on the long trek here (DTW-SEA-ANC = 10 hours).  It’s a seasoned nut, but with some umph.

To refresh, I love nuts. You know, the sweet, salty, crunch spiced nuts that you can find on many a fairground, tourist area, street corner, etc. I love them, I love them all. You’ve seen them here before – OG – gingerbread for holiday time.

I love them even more because of an incident at Oktoberfest in 2010 had D chasing after a nut cart at the end night yelling “NO NUT PLACE DON’T CLOSE!” 

An inside joke that still holds strong 13 years later.

Anyway, this little twist has a bit of an unusual addition – bitters!

Now, I’m not a mixologist and more of often than not will opt for a non-cocktail option should I choose to imbibe, but I read recently that you can use bitters in the place of extracts and I loved that idea! Vanilla is obviously a go-to flavoring but mixing it up with something a little bit special…well, that just makes us all feel a little fancy.

And since we’re being honest here, I do love to be fancy.

The base nut I’ve chose here is a pistachio because well, apparently pistachios are a bit of a fancy nut so it fit in with the vibe I’ve got going. The particular bitters I’ve chosen here are a Mexican chocolate and when mixed with butter and brown sugar resulted in a smoky, sweet, crunchy surprise.

I can’t wait to try it with more flavors!

Did I mention I made this all on the stovetop? Unlike previous recipes that were baked, these were a quick toss in the skillet.

They were also a fan favorite at my football watch a few weeks ago, so I can tell you that this is a sure thing!

Tip- let the nuts cool completely before deciding if it needs more bitters. The flavors develop more and are stronger once cooled.