Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts — The smell of candied nuts is one of the best parts of holiday shopping! Munch on a these shopping mall-style candied nuts at home, year-round.
Homemade Candied Nuts Recipe
The smell of candied nuts wafting through the shopping malls before Christmas is positively intoxicating. Something so good shouldn’t be confined to just a month or two of the year. These shopping mall-style candied nuts are fast and easy to make and ready in a half hour. The aroma that wafts through your house while they bake is so intoxicating that you’ll wish you could bottle it.
For this mix, I used 1 cup each of pecans, walnuts, and almonds. Pecans are great here because their nooks and crannies trap the coating mixture especially well.
In the coating mixture, I used one tablespoon of cinnamon and one-half teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The nuts aren’t intense firebombs where you’ll need to immediately guzzle water. Rather, it’s a creeper heat. The kind that sneaks up on you.
After a handful, your sinuses will be wide open, but you’ll reach for another handful. Food with heat is addictive. The more you have, the more you want. If you’re not into heat, either reduce or eliminate the cayenne. Still tasty, minus the open sinuses.
The sweet-with-heat, caramelized, crispy, brown sugary coating is so good. The stray bits of it that fall off are even better than the nuts themselves for me. I love finding bonus chunks of it laying loose in the jar. It’s the streusel topping principle. I love to pick at any sort of brown sugary crumbs.
These homemade Christmas nuts make great last-minute gifts and anything homemade in under a half hour is a winner. Don’t wait for Christmas. Bring some to a summer bbq, a pool party, or a neighborhood cookout. You’ll be the hit of the party as people stand around crunching and munching.
We’ve been doing our share of crunching and munching alright.
What’s in Candied Nuts?
To make this mixture of candied pecans, candied walnuts, and candied almonds, you’ll need:
- Nuts
- Egg white
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Cayenne pepper
How to Make Candied Nuts
Making candied Christmas nuts couldn’t be simpler! Place nuts in a large bowl. Whisk the egg white and water until frothy in another bowl.
Pour the egg white mixture over the nuts, then pour in the remaining ingredients. Toss evenly to coat.
Spread the nuts over a parchment paper-lined baking tray, then bake until the coating is crisped, dried and candied.
How Long Do Candied Nuts Last?
If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these candied nuts will last up to a month.
What Type of Nuts Should I Use?
You can use any type of nuts you’d like in this candied nuts recipe. Just note that I used raw, unsalted nuts in this recipe.
Can I Omit the Cayenne Pepper?
Yes, but I recommend adding it in. It’s highly addictive!
Can I Add Other Spices?
Yes, you’re welcome to spice these candied nuts however you see fit. Cinnamon is a must in my book, though.
Can I Omit the Egg White?
Not really, no. The egg white acts as the glue in this recipe and prevents the candied coating from sliding off the nuts.
Can I Omit Part of the Sugar?
I don’t think so, no. Without the sugar, you can’t make candied nuts.
Tips for Making Candied Nuts
Don’t skip the kosher salt in this recipe. You need a bit of salt to balance out the sweetness of the candy coating and bring out the flavor of the nuts themselves.
Be sure to stir the candied nuts halfway through the bake time. If you don’t stir them, some of the nuts may burn.
Lastly, you need to let these candied Christmas nuts cool completely before eating them. They crisp up as they cool and develop a crunchy exterior.
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Sweet with Heat Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts
Ingredients
- 3 cups nuts, pecans work very well to absorb the coating; I used 1 cup each of pecans, walnuts, and almonds. All were raw and unsalted
- 1 egg white, whisked to frothy
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark is fine)
- 2 + teaspoons cinnamon, I used 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (reduce to 1/4 teaspoon for milder heat)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the nuts; set aside. I used 1 cup each of pecans, walnuts, and almonds. All were raw and unsalted.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water until frothy, foamy, and bubbly, about 2 minutes by hand. Pour mixture over nuts and toss to coat evenly; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 5 ingredients. Dump over the nuts and toss to coat evenly.
- Turn nuts out onto to prepared baking tray, spreading them in an even flat layer.
- Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until coasting is crisped, dried and candied. Stir nuts once midway through cooking.
- Lift the parchment paper with the nuts on it off the baking tray, set it on the counter, and allow nuts to cool. When nuts are cool enough to handle, if desired, break apart large clusters.
- Transfer nuts to airtight containers or jars.
Notes
- Nuts will keep airtight at room temperature for at least 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My husband always gives me the “I don’t know” and “I don’t care” answers as well. This is a great idea though! I can’t almost smell them!
Knowing you and the foods you like and make, you would LOVE these, Cassie!
These nuts would be perfect in our household.
They look divine! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
These remind me of the holidays! My mom does this every year… SO GOOD!
We had a jar of these sent to us from Colleen of Souffle Bombay a couple months ago, and my husband hoarded (and devoured) the entire thing! Must be something about guys and sweet/spicy nuts! Love the kick of cayenne in these!
Well now you can make them for him! Super easy!
The brown sugar coating sounds incredible!! These sound additive and I know my dad would go crazy for them, as would I!! Love these, Averie!
That coating…I wish I could put it on everything!
Candied nuts – especially almonds are impossible to pass up for me. TJ’s has some honey sesame that I love. Probably a good thing we don’t have a TJs. I’ve tried to make some habanero pecans but didn’t get it just right. We have a friend whose dad makes them from his homemade habanero jelly. They are amazing, addicting and amazing. And these? look so good. Thanks for sharing!
I know the TJs honey sesame ones VERY well. They are super good. But these if I do say so, are even better :)
And if your friend is selling homemade habanero jelly, I’m buying!! WOW. I lovvvve hot pepper jelly and that would be my dream jelly!
Ohh, these sound addictive! Nuts have been one of my pregnancy cravings, so I feel like I must make these ASAP!!
Congrats on your bun! And I guess the little one knows how tasty nuts are and so you’ve been having cravings. Funny, all I ever craved was Saltines and white carbs. lol
My favorite snack used to be a bunch of nuts, not chopped, tossed with maple syrup and vanilla and salt then baked. Then mixed with raisins to cool. Best snack ever, just a little expensive and calorie dense :-) These nuts look great, I’ll definitely be making them soon!
Maple syrup and vanilla and salt then baked. And then raisins.
THAT sounds amazing!
The first time I ever had candied nuts was at a showing of the Christmas Carol in Manhattan during a massive blizzard it was awesome and candied nuts bring me back to that day everytime…can’t wait to make these.
I love food memories and stories like that. Thanks for sharing! I grew up in MN and have plenty of memories of blizzards and comfort food that kept us warm and toasty!
Treats like this are so dangerous! I would love to try a small handful of these….but could I stop after that? Probably not :)
Girl they are crazy addictive. Cannot stop after a small handful unless you have willpower of steel!
Definitely did a great job with the photography – not to worry!
Really love the look of this; and I’m sure I’d adore the flavour – nicely done!
Thanks for the photography compliments! And on the recipe, too!
I love candied nuts, but have never made them before. I didn’t realize how easy they are to put together! These sound very good! :-)
I love this recipe–and no doubt these are addictive! Those same nuts I smell in the malls are also popping up during our summer festivals now. I like the use of egg white on these–it gives them that thick, clingy coating but isn’t potentially tooth fracturing like a Jordan almond. I made some curried cashews for a co-worker a couple of weeks ago….I’m sure if I took these to the office they’d be gone in a flash!
Ahhh, tooth fracturing. Yes, there are some nuts that seriously I wonder if I’ll lose a tooth! These aren’t like that. Crunchy but not tooth fracturing. Summer festivals…you’re right, they do tend to have these at things like that. The crazy thing is that fall festivals start in August even thought it’s still hot out and I know for sure they have them at that type of thing.
Yes to the clingy coating. I’ve tried a million different coatings/tricks and this is the best for cling!
LOVE “Sweet Heat” in the recipe title, Averie! I just adore sugared and spiced nuts. Add some heat, and I love them even more! Great idea for summer BBQs, too, like you suggested. Fabulous photography as always! Pinning! xo
Thanks for pinning! It was hard to take pictures of these little buggers. How do you make a nut look great, really…but I tried :)
My dad likes nuts too. Of course I love nuts, but maybe its a guy thing that is somehow related to sitting at a pub and having that little bowl of mixed nuts? Anywho, I really like this recipe and also the name. Egg whites, interesting, I never would have thought of using those but I bet it really does wonders to hold everything together. I think these blow cinnamon hearts out of the park.
I’ve tried a million different coatings/tricks and the egg white is the best for cling. The coating truly sticks, rather than just falling off. And glad you like the title :)