Dark Roasted Peanuts

Dark Roasted Peanuts

Peanuts, fresh & raw (approx. 1-1 1/2 lbs)
sugar
salt
black pepper, ground
cayenne, ground

Tightly pack one layer of peanuts into a cookie sheet with raised sides.  Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove a portion of the nuts… roughly 40-50 percent.  And, stir the remaining nuts.  Return the remaining peanuts to the oven and continue roasting for 15-30 minutes.  Or, until the peanuts have reached the level of dark roasted goodness that you prefer.  Return the reserved nuts to the oven for the last 5 minutes of roasting.

Dust roasted nuts with the spice mix while the nuts are still hot.  I like to use approximately 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 table kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne.  (Ground in a spice mill until finely ground) Finely ground spices tend to stick best.  But, without a binder, the spices still tend to fall to the bottom of the jar.