This weekend I finally got up to Mt Holly, VT to make a few batches of my long-awaited Kick-in-the-Nuts Snacks! Friends, Laura & Dave of A Dozen Eggs have the most adorable bake shop filled with scrumptious hand-iced sugar cookies, maple cookies, fun-Fall-flavored cupcakes and even homemade apple dog treats!
Having worked for Laura & Dave a few years back when we all lived in Southie, I was excited to have the chance to dust off my icing skills and help Laura ice a few batches of Beantown and Pennant Fever cookies. "Like riding a bike", Dave says...
On saturday, I roasted about 40lbs of nuts and made mostly "Papridiculous" and some "Cinnapunch" (two of my three flavors). Papridiculous includes some of the gorgeous, smoky paprika from Christina's Spice Shop in Cambridge, and Cinnapunch is a blend of spicy notes including Seygon Cinnamon and 5 spice from Christina's as well. The smell was enticing! I can't get enough of it! There is no comparison to using good quality and FRESH spices. Its like any other ingredient, you want to get it and keep it as fresh as possible. Most people tend to keep their spices for months, even years. What are you thinking?! I prefer to buy them whole and grind them myself, (especially for making my Dukkah nut & spice blends). But when I do need to source ground, Christina's is where I go.
Since I'm a huge fan of spice flavors and especially chili spice, my products always include a blend. Even my Cinnapunch nut snacks have my earthy blend of dried chilis. There's definately a punch of flavor! As my first larger-scale batch, I'm pretty happy with them. But as an artisan, I am already thinking about how I will tweak the next batches. Look for them online and at local events and gourmet shops. (I'll post events and locations as they come up).
I didn't make my third flavor, "Fabanero" unfortunately. But I think it was a wise decision as grinding dry habanero powder in the bakery would probably have Laura, Dave and all the animals still coughing and weazing!
Photo: Papridiculous going into the oven
Here is photo of Dave enjoying a Gray's Papaya hot dog in NYC on a recent visit!
We had a great time too! I can't wait for the next run of nuts. Last night we sampled the mild salsa you left with some scotch.... it was excellent. When can we get some more?
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