Spiced Sugar Coated Peanuts

Anne and I made a great find at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse gift shop a few weeks ago -- a copy of 25 Secrets Revealed: A Culinary Tour by OBX local Kevin McCabe (we also got to meet the author!) McCabe grew up in the Outer Banks, but his travels have taken him all over the world, and his cookbook is a collection of his favorite recipes he's collected along the way along with the stories of how he encountered them.

So far we've only had the chance to try a couple of the recipes (though I plan to work through the rest of the book as soon as possible). But this recipe, for sugar spiced peanuts, is one we've made a few times. McCabe created it after he spent time in Indonesia, and it is delicious and addicting.
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Ingredients:

2 cups raw peanuts with the skins on
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of allspice

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, dissolve the sugar and water over medium heat. Add the peanuts and stir very gently from time to time. After 8-9 minutes, the mixture will begin to look like rough sand and all the bubbling sugar will suddenly disappear. Quickly spread the nuts onto a nonstick cookie sheet and sprinkle on the cinnamon and allspice. Place them into a 275-degree oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring lightly every 5-6 minutes. Let cool and see how long they last.
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This is a quick recipe -- it goes fast, both the cooking and the eating of it. We made another batch with almonds, just because we could, but the peanuts were the real star. Something about how creamy they get when they're roasted...  Still, I think this recipe should be pretty easily adaptable for kids with peanut/tree nut allergies -- just substitute pumpkin seeds or even soybeans in place of the peanuts. (I would love to hear how this works if any of you decide to try it!)

You can get your copy of 25 Secrets Revealed here.