Almond Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur


Preheat oven to 400° F.

In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, amaretto, and almonds.

Gradually mix in the flour until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 5 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cookies are lightly colored.

Pecan Pralines

1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp good rum (spiced works nice for the holidays)
3 cups pecan halves


In a heavy saucepan, combine sugars, water, honey and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; do not stir. Cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 240° F (soft-ball stage). Remove from the heat; add extracts. Cool to lukewarm without stirring.

Beat with a mixer for 2-3 minutes or until creamy. Stir in pecans until coated. Turn onto waxed paper (mixture will be really sticky); separate large clumps. Cool for several hours or until dry and sugary. Store in an airtight container.

*If you cannot have alcohol, extract will work just as good.

Sweet Pecans

1 egg white
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs vanilla (or almond) extract
1 pound pecan halves


Preheat oven to 250°F. Lightly butter a baking sheet.

In a bowl, beat the egg white until foamy. Mix in cinnamon, sugars, salt, and flavoring. Mix well. Stir in pecan halves, stirring until well coated. Spread on baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Rosemary Cashews

These are one of my favorite holiday treats! This is a very forgiving recipe!

1 lb roasted unsalted cashews (salted works okay too, if that is all you can find)
2 Tbs minced fresh rosemary leaves (if you used dried use 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 Tbs of kosher salt (if you used salted cashews only use about 1 tsp, or less, test cashews first)
1 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the oven until warm, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter and serve warm.