Apple Pie Spiced Walnuts and Raisins

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: 8 minutes

This is pure aromatherapy. There’s nothing like the smell of baking apple pie to raise the spirits, so in this recipe I pulled together the spices that make apple pie special and gave them a new home— walnuts. Walnuts, with all their nooks and crannies, catch all the spices, especially after they’re coated with a little olive oil and maple syrup (just writing this is making me practically salivate). Walnuts happen to be loaded with the omega-3 known as alpha-linolenic acid, which in animal studies exerted an antidepressant effect. Tossing them with plump raisins is the kicker.

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Grade A Dark Amber maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons raisins (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put the olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl and stir to combine. Add in the walnuts and stir with a spatula to evenly coat the walnuts with the spices. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 8 minutes, until you can begin to smell them. If adding raisins, toss them with the warm walnuts.

COOK’S NOTE: As soon as you start to smell that heavenly aroma wafting from the stove, it’s time to remove the nuts from the oven. They will continue to cook as they cool.

The raisins will plump up as they are tossed with the warm nuts. Take a handful and eat these with sliced apples for a deconstructed, unbaked apple pie.

Reprinted with permission from The Healthy Mind Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA. 

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