“I made your recipe, but I changed it and now it’s better,” said a customer. How so?

“Well, I didn’t read the recipe, but just put all of the ingredients together in a pot and cooked it. So I didn’t realize until later that I was supposed to roll the nuts in sugar.”

Ah, the challenge of writing a recipe: no one ever reads the instructions. Just like no one ever reads the instructions for appliances. (Another customer called me on Sunday while she was trying to make pesto in her new food processor. I said, there is an instruction manual and a DVD. She laughed at the idea of actually reading the manual!)

The first rule of cooking is to read the recipe all the way through before starting, but no one does. So, here are two versions of honeyed nuts. In the first, the hot sticky nuts are rolled in sugar so they won’t stick together. In the second, the nuts are coated in melted honey and sugar. Try them both and see which you prefer!

Honey Roasted Nuts

• 2 cups raw nuts: almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamias, or a mixture
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Directions for version 1:

Spread out the almonds on an ungreased baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven, and bake at 350 degrees until toasted, about 5-8 minutes. Toss once about halfway through cooking. Meanwhile, stir together the honey, water and oil in a medium saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir in the roasted almonds and cook, stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed by the nuts. On a sheet pan, spread out the sugar, salt, and pepper. Roll the hot nuts in the seasoning and let cool.

Directions for version 2:

Spread out the almonds on an ungreased baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven, and bake at 350 degrees until toasted, about 5-8 minutes. Toss once about halfway through cooking. Meanwhile, stir together the honey, water, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir in the roasted nuts and cook, stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed by the nuts.