Roasted nuts are a step that some chefs skip, which is unfortunate because this simple effort can really make a dish (or cookies!). From good to amazing. Roasted nuts deepen their taste and make them more nutty and complex. It also gives them a crisper texture, which is one of the reasons we add nuts to our food.
There are two basic ways to bake a nut in the oven: dry or small amounts of oil. Read the instructions on both methods and when to use them.
Baked nuts can be tricky because they can be done in less than a minute. You're also dealing with discrete pieces, some of which look faster than others. They don't spend a lot of time in the oven -- usually not more than 15 minutes -- so people often say, "why bother?" Then skip this step and not preheat the oven for such a short program. But it's also repeated: if your recipe calls for roasted nuts (and sometimes even not), take this important step.
Dry baking and oil baking: grilled nuts with a little oil is a great way to add flavor and crispy. I especially like to mix nuts and oils together, in my fridge with small cans of almond and walnut oil. Neutral oils like grape seed oil are also good.
Buttoasted nuts are not always appropriate, especially when they are used for baking, because oil does add oil and can be thrown away. I grill nuts in oil, and when I add them to salads, for example, when they're used for decorating, or when I want to entertain them with aperitif. In the photo above, I baked walnuts and almonds and bought a bit of roasted walnut oil from La Tourangelle.
Check for stirring. It's important to check nuts often when you're baking and stirring. Most ovens have hot spots, so you want to move nuts around and even bake them. I often focus on removing the nuts from the edge, which is much earlier than the middle nuts.
