Homemade Candied Nuts
This easy recipe for Homemade Candied Nuts makes an excellent Christmas gift or hostess gift for friends and family or just a delicious holiday snack to munch on.
These cinnamon sugar pecans and walnuts are great for many holiday occasions. Put a large bowl of them out at your holiday party and watch them disappear. You can mix them in with some popcorn for your holiday movie marathons or add them to a bowl of ice cream. You can even sprinkle them in your winter salad!
This candied nut recipe also makes a great homemade gift! Give jars of them to your friends, family, co-workers, boss, or anyone to whom you wish to spread a little holiday cheer.
You can also try our slow cooker spiced nuts for those in your life who like a hint spice with their sweet!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Egg – You only need the egg white, not the yolk.
- Sugar – You will want regular granulated sugar as well as dark brown sugar for these nuts.
- Ground cinnamon – A staple in holiday baking.
- Nuts – Pecans and Walnuts. If you’re feeling adventurous you can also try almonds, cashews, or peanuts.
If you want to add a little heat to your candied pecans, try adding a little cayenne pepper.
How to Make Candied Nuts in the Oven
Step 1 – Preheat – Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Step 2 – Toss sugar and cinnamon – In a large bowl toss together the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Step 3 – Whisk egg white – In a separate bowl add the egg white and 1 tablespoon of water. Use a whisk or a hand mixer to whisk together until the egg whites become super frothy.
Step 4 – Add nuts – Place your nuts in the bowl with the egg whites and stir together until they are well coated.
Step 5 – Sugar nuts – Use a fork, or a slotted spoon, to move the nuts to the sugar mixture bowl. Toss with the sugar and they are well coated.
Step 6 – Place on baking sheet – Once the nuts are coated in cinnamon and sugar place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or silicone mat. It’s ok if some touch, you can break them apart when they come out of the oven, but make sure it is just one single layer. You don’t want them stacked up on each other.
Step 7 – Bake – Bake at 300 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, stopping halfway through to toss the nuts around a little before letting them finish baking.
Step 8 – Cool – Once they finish baking, remove from the oven, let them cool completely, and serve or store them for later.
Chewy or sticky sugared pecans most likely weren’t cooked long enough. The heat from the oven melts the sugar and gives it a crunch but it also helps to toast the nuts. Toasting the nuts dries them out so that they have a crisper texture when you bite into them.
If your pecans are perfect when they come out of the oven but are slightly chewy or sticky a few days later this may be due to the level of humidity in air. Moisture from the air can be absorbed by the nuts softening them and breaking down the sugar.
You can try to fix this issue by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and pouring the candied nuts back onto it. Place in a 325-degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. This should help to dry out the nuts and return their crisper flavor.
You can store your nuts at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If, after a few days, your nuts become soft or chewy, see instructions above for how to make them crispy again.
You can store your nuts in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up 2 – 3 weeks.
You can store your nuts in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
No, they are not the same thing.
Typically candied pecans use white and brown sugar and egg whites which bake onto the nuts creating a sweet crust.
Glazed pecans use brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter which make a syrup that bakes into the nuts in a sweet, shiny coating.
Can You Freeze Candied Nuts?
Yes, you can freeze candied nuts. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
When you’re ready to take them out of the freezer remove them from the bag and let them come to room temperature. You want to do this outside of the bag so that condensation doesn’t form and get on the nuts causing them to become soft and sticky.
Looking for More Homemade Holiday Treats?
- Christmas Chex mix
- Rolo pecan bites
- Dark chocolate cherry truffles
- Easy microwave fudge
- Homemade peppermint bark
- Rocky road bark
- More Homemade Candies….
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Homemade Candied Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 large Egg white
- 1/2 cup Sugar, granulated
- 1/4 cup Dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- 16 ounces Pecans halves
- 8 ounces Walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a large bowl toss together the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl add the egg white and 1 tablespoon of water. Use a whisk or a hand mixer to whisk together until the egg whites become super frothy.
- Once the coating ingredients are ready place your nuts in the bowl with the egg whites and stir together until they are well coated.
- Use a fork, or a slotted spoon, to move the nuts to the sugar mixture bowl. Toss with the sugar and they are well coated.
- Once the nuts are coated in cinnamon and sugar place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. It’s ok if some touch you can break them apart when they come out of the oven but make sure it is just one layer, you don’t want them stacked up on each other.
- Bake at 300 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, stopping halfway through to toss the nuts around a little before letting them finish baking.
- Once they finish baking, remove from the oven and let them cool completely and then serve or store them for later.
Nutrition
