Spiced Lavender Walnuts

The blooming season has ended for my lavender bushes but now I have dried lavender on hand and recipes ready to test! Try these nuts in salads, sandwiches, trail mix or serve as a part of a party tray. From The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley. Note: when I did "research" for this recipe online, someone mentioned that they spread the nuts on a wire rack to allow the excess sugar to drip off the nuts. Place something underneath the rack to catch the drippings-wax paper, paper grocery bag, etc. I did not try this trick as it was after the fact.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Yields: 3 cups

Ingredients

• 2  cups walnuts (I used hazelnut halves because I didn't have enough walnuts on hand) or 2  cups hazelnuts (I used hazelnut halves because I didn't have enough walnuts on hand)
• 1  cup  unbleached sugar (reduced from 1 1/2 cups)
• 1⁄2 cup  filtered water
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon  dried provence  lavender
• 1  teaspoon fresh rosemary leaf, finely minced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread the walnuts on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Alternatively, the nuts can be lightly toasted in a skillet on the range.
3. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon and salt.
4. (After testing this recipe the thought ran through my head of using half of a cinnamon stick. fyi).
5. Over medium heat boil the mixture *without* stirring until it reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Be careful with this step as the sugar syrup is very hot and will burn your skin!
6. Remove pan from heat and stir in the lavender, rosemary and walnuts.
7. Using a buttered spatula, quickly stir until all nuts are coated.
8. Transfer the walnuts to the cookie sheet and spread them singly in an even layer, separating the mixture using the buttered spatula.
9. Cool.
10. Store in an airtight container or in a Ziploc-type plastic bag in the refrigerator or freezer.