Nutty Nosh to Make for Your Next Board Game Night

There are two kinds of board game owners: those who eat, drink, and make merry around the table, and those who don’t. I get it! Those cardboard babies can cost a pretty penny, and all it takes is one errant pop can or a little pizza grease … But it’s also nice to snack a little while plotting and scheming your next move. Eating can be a social activity, and one that can enhance any game night! In this article, I’ll share two recipes for candied and roasted nuts that were real winners with my board game group. They’re super simple to fix up.

Spicy candied almonds are a sweet and spicy treat.

Spicy Candied Almonds

I went through about four different recipe variations before figuring out the right ingredient combination/ratio for this recipe—so shout-out to my husband and our board game friends for acting as my guinea pigs.

The hot pepper powder I use also has the pepper seeds in it; combined with the cayenne, it gives the almonds a pleasant hint of heat. And a small warning: the sugar and spice coating is pretty molten right out of the oven, so be sure to let the almonds cool completely and for it to set before you try to box them up!

What You’ll Need

• 1 egg white
• 1 tbs water
• 3 cups almonds, roasted, unsalted
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbs hot pepper powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp cayenne

Gather your ingredients.

How to Do It

1. Heat oven to 300°F.

2. Whip egg whites and water until white and frothy.

3. Add almonds and stir to coat.

4. Add the sugar, salt, and spices and mix to coat evenly. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

5. Bake for ~35 minutes, then let cool. Once cooled, break them apart and transfer to a container.

Savory Roasted Nuts

If the nut mix you buy doesn’t include peanuts, I recommend buying some separately and adding them in; along with the cashews, they are particularly good with these spices. Savory powder is something of an uncommon one, but I’ve found it at Cub Foods sometimes.

What You’ll Need

• 4.5 cups mixed nuts, roasted, unsalted
• 3 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp savory powder
• 1 tsp celery salt

There isn’t much that goes into these, but the payoff is huge—trust me.

How to Do It

1. Heat oven to 300°F.

2. Melt the butter and mix in the spices. Pour over the nuts and mix to coat evenly.

3. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet (no lining or spraying necessary) and bake for 35 minutes.

4. Let the nuts cool and then transfer to a container.

Small, snack-type foods seem to work best for game night munching, so these are perfect. You can even pretend they’re healthy! Something something omega-3s, something something protein … More importantly, though, they’re tasty.

So, which type of gamer are you? Do you have your own favorite snacks to bring to the table, or does the idea of crumbs near your board game hoard make shivers run down your spine? Let us know in the comments below!