It’s about 55 degrees here in Chicago today and it hovered around 45 yesterday. Stop it already, it’s June for love of bacon! I’m ready for 70’s, 80’s, heck I’ll even take the 90’s. But as Spring takes its last dying breath, I am contemplating the adventures that lie ahead. Trips to the beach, camping, parks, street festivals– with all of this running around I’m really gonna need some delicious backup. I have to make something tasty and easy that I can carry in my purse for busy days when I’m too excited to stop and eat.
Aww, nuts! Peanuts are the perfect stow away snack. They’re packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats, non-perishable, and mother-lovin’ delicious. Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to jazz them up just a tiny, tiny bit. Okay, I jazzed them up alotabit with one of my very favorite flavors– mole!
Mole is a sauce that is comprised of about a gazillion ingredients, some of which being roasted chiles, peanuts, sesame seeds, raisins, chocolate, cinnamon, tomatoes, toasted tortillas, and so much more. It is a complex mash up of all of my favorite Mexican ingredients– and it goes perfectly with peanuts. While I have made a mole from scratch, that is an endeavor I will reserve for special occasions. (It took me about 4 hours of preparation and 2 hours of simmering. Whew!) To make mole on an average day, I like to use a paste that can be bought from the store and is reconstituted with chicken broth.
There are a boat load of tasty mole variations, depending on what region of Mexico they come from, but I have found that Dona Maria mole paste works best for this recipe. It’s super popular and one of the easier mole pastes to find. All you have to do is mix it with some sugar and water, boil it for a bit, add the peanuts, and you’re done. They’re so easy, but wowee kazowee do they have some flavor! They have a sweet, subtly spicy, cinnamon, and sesame seed taste, but with the unmistakable aroma mole. Oh goodness me, om nom nom.
These will do nicely for an on the go snack, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to hide these suckers. During both the recipe testing and shooting process, these nuts (haha) have quickly disappeared. They really are addictive. You might want to make a double batch– just sayin’.
I hope you enjoy these candied mole peanuts as much as we have. What kind of snacks do you carry around to fend off hunger? Let us know all about it! See you soon!
Mole Candied Peanuts Recipe
Author: Danielle
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 6
With only a handful of ingredients and quick prep, these Mole Candied Peanuts are the perfect snack for busy days– or any day!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup mole paste (preferably Dona Maria), removed from the jar and stirred to combine the oil and paste
- heavy pinch of salt
- 2 cups unsalted dry roasted peanuts (you can also use salted, but be sure to omit the pinch of salt)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the sugar, water, mole paste, and salt in a large skillet over high heat. Whisk everything together until well blended. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to medium and allow to boil for 7 minutes.
- Remove the mole mixture from the heat and stir in the peanuts with a spoon. Continue stirring until the peanuts are coated, then pour onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Break the candied peanuts up as they cool. Allow to come to room temperature. Devour immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature.