Nuts are healthful and flavorful additions to baked goods and other recipes.

But if you don’t use them, they go stale.

First, they’ll loose their crispness and get soft. Then, the oils in the nuts will go rancid.

Factory-sealed bags have an expiration date, but that only promises that nuts in the unsealed bag will be fresh through that date.

The minute you open the bag and let the air in, the nuts will slowly start to degrade.

If you buy loose nuts, or those that have been packaged in cellophane or paper bags by the retailer, they’re even more susceptible to the elements.

Stale nuts will take on a musty or rancid smell; one bite will tell you if they’re still fit for use.

So today’s tip is how to rescue nuts that are not at peak.

Photo of Squirrel Brand cashew nuts by Corey Lugg | THE NIBBLE.

 
 
If The Nuts Have Lost Crispness

To crisp soft nuts, spread them out on a cookie sheet or in a baking pan. Place them in a 250°F oven for 5 minutes. Taste, and if you want them crisper, roast them for another 5 minutes. Roasting or toasting nuts also enhances the nutty flavor. For maximum nuttiness, toast at 350°F for 10 to 20 minutes (or toast in a hot frying pan) until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

You can also try toasting the nuts in the microwave. Experiment in small increments to avoid burning: the time will vary based on your microwave and the nuts.

If the nuts are in the shell, shake them. Nutmeats that rattle in their shells are usually stale. Bake them in the shells at 225° for 2-1/2 hours. Let them cool 30 minutes before cracking and testing.
 
 
If The Nuts Are Rancid

If the oil has turned rancid, try rinsing the nuts thoroughly under hot water. The surface oils, which are the most exposed, typically go bad first. You may be able to remove them.

Otherwise, you can leave the nuts for the birds and the squirrels.
 
 
How To Use Up Nuts

Most of us don’t bake cookies every week. But we do make other foods that can be happily enhanced with nuts.

 
 
Speaking of nuts, the best gourmet nuts we’ve had are from Squirrel Brand Nuts (in photo).

They’re too good for the squirrels, but if you want an exquisite nut experience (and holiday gift idea), check out the selection.

Fall pie crust cutters. Photo courtesy
William-Sonoma.

These pie crust cutters are an easy way to create a dazzling crust.

Just press the spring-loaded cutters into dough and release delicate shapes—acorn, leaf, pumpkin and turkey—embossed with fine detail.

Layer the shapes on top of a pie, as shown in the photo, or use the cutters to make cutout patterns in a pie’s top crust. You can even add sugar to the dough to turn the cutouts into cookies.

They’re a Williams-Sonoma exclusive. Get them now at Williams-Sonoma.com.
Then, make your favorite holiday pie recipe or use one of ours:

Find more of our favorite pie recipes in our Pie & Pastry Section.

How many types of pie have you had? Browse through our beautiful Pie Glossary.

Now that she’s a mom, says the cook in the video, she’s become “notorious for sneaking vegetables into everything.”

But we don’t think butternut squash needs to be “sneaked” into the recipe. We love the idea of this seasonal mac and cheese.

For added flourishes to the recipe in the video, how about:

 
More Mac & Cheese
After you’ve watched the video below, check out:

Image: Sautéeing the thyme and grated onion in butter and olive oil to make the squash sauce.

We’ve tried a lot of wine travel bags. We like VinniBag the best for car and bus trunks, airline travel and anytime a good bottle of wine can be jolted. It’s not just leakproof: It’s so robustly padded that nothing should break in the first place.

Like an inflatable bath pillow, VinniBag has inflatable air chambers that protect and insulate wine bottles and other liquids (olive oil, for example). The air pockets provide superior protection against impact and leakage.

Easy to inflate, VinniBag deflates and stores flat when not in use.

One VinniBag is $28.00; two or more are $25.00 each. It’s a welcome gift for friends who buy good wine and like to travel with it.

Get yours at VinniBag.com.

Instead of hours of cooking, enjoy a bowl
of steaming Vietnamese phö soup in
minutes. Photo by Simon Gurney |
Dreamstime.

Instead of making stock for hours, though, you can enjoy the 10-minute version with Pacific Organic Soup Starters. Not bad, given that a bowl of phö can have up to 30 ingredients (including all the seasonings in the broth).

It’s the best commercial phö we’ve had, and an easy way for you to treat yourself (and your family) to something special.

Phö, pronounced fuh, is also high in protein and low in calories when you enjoy the delicious broth without the traditional rice noodles.

While Vietnamese pho is a beef-based stock, Pacific Organic makes chicken and vegetarian soup bases as well as beef.
You can find them at natural food stores nationwide and online.