Pumpkin Spiced Walnuts

Serve pumpkin spiced walnuts with ice cream and caramel sauce.

(Alicia Ross for Kitchen Scoop)

This time of year, what we need besides more hours in the day is flexibility and options in our recipes. Today's recipe for Pumpkin Spiced Walnuts gives us just that. Straight out of the oven, this is a nutty, delicious snack. Paired with semi-soft cheese, wheat crackers and pear slices, it is a yummy appetizer. Packed in a decorative glass jar and tied with a ribbon, it is a hostess gift.

Recipe included with this story: Pumpkin Spiced Walnuts

Chop them and sprinkle over a crisp green salad, a baked sweet potato or baked fish or chicken, and suddenly you have the flavor boost you need. Chop them and stir them into a chocolate chip cookie batter, sprinkle them over pumpkin bisque or dress up a scoop of ice cream with holiday flair. These are just a few ways I've used Pumpkin Spiced Walnuts, and I'm sure you can come up with many more.

This simple recipe can wear many hats and is so easy to make that I know you will turn to it time and again, just like I have done. Happy holidays and enjoy!

-- Alicia Ross, Kitchen Scoop