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.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
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.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Holiday Treats:
Reindeer Chow — A holiday twist on classic Muddy Buddies that’s EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and perfect for hostess gifts or cookie exchanges!!
Fudgy Boubon Balls — These bourbon balls only take 15 minutes of prep and you can make them days (or weeks) in advance, and just one appliance is dirtied!
The Easiest Foolproof Fudge — Look no further than this recipe for the EASIEST and most FOOLPROOF fudge that takes less than 3 minutes to make!!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Stacks — If you need a ridiculously easy, no-bake dessert for a party, holiday cookie exchange, or just have a spur of the moment craving for chocolate and peanut butter, these Ritz cookies are perfect!
White Chocolate-Dipped Oreo Cookie Balls — This Oreo balls recipe uses just 4 simple ingredients! If you’re looking for an easy no-bake dessert for cookie swaps or gift exchanges, this is it!
Crock Pot Maple Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix — This Crock-Pot Chex Mix is LOADED with pumpkin spice flavor! It’s so easy to make and can easily be adapted to suit the ingredients you have on hand.
Loaded Christmas Bark — This loaded up holiday bark is a ridiculously easy no-bake treat with Oreos, pretzels, peanuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and holiday sprinkles all embedded into dark chocolate.
I love your title for this recipe, and those nuts…wow! They sounds so good to me right now. :)
thanks Amber! You went into my spam but you’re out now!
These look amazing. I love the name too! It’s cute :) It’s so dangerous to keep nuts in the house- they are WAY too addicting. But these seem well worth it!
I loooove spiced nuts. Recently I used Aleppo pepper instead cayenne, and the results were quite tasty.
I’ve never even heard of Aleppo pepper! Ok now I have to keep an eye out for that and try it! Thanks for LMK! Learn somethin’ new every day!
These look like one completely addictive snack! Love the sugary cinnamon coating!
I absolutely love nuts like this – anytime I make any my husband and I usually fight for the last ones (I like to save them and eat small amounts over time, and he likes to eat as many as possible in one sitting haha). Inevitably I get mad because I come home after work to find that the last few I was saving for myself were gone : )
Omg I would freak! Then again, we have SO much food here at all times b/c of my cookbook, blog, recipe testing that it would probably be a blessing if some disappeared!
These look great, Averie! LOVE this idea. So fun and such a great snack for summer!
That scent reminds me so much of the mall! This is so weird, but I made coookies with a similar flavor profile just yesterday. My friend named them Ginger Smackdowns. ;)
Ginger Smackdowns = omg I want one already! What are the odds you used the same flavor profile, too, 12 hrs before this post went live. After all these years, these things don’t surprise me anymore!
I have a recipe for sweet and salty nuts, but your looks SO much better. I’vee never tried the egg white wash before . . . Oh, you are dead on about addictive! Sweet and spicy nuts are delicious and my downfall. Your description of creeper heat made me smile, but is truth! Cinnamon, sugar, and cayenne is in my future! Hopefully, I can make them today. I’ll let you know how they turn out:)
Yes please LMK how it goes! The egg white clings like no other so the coating sticks beautifully!
These look great, I love the creeper heat!
Nuts are one of my favorite snacks and I’m always looking for new ways to change them up. I love the sweet with the heat… great combo, thanks!
My husband and in-laws would absolutely love these! They’re always chomping on nuts in their house, and I like that this contains a “hidden” heat that kicks up at the end.
You should give them these and not tell them about the hidden heat and see what they say :)
These look like the perfect homemade guys gift! Or girl, I would love these things.
I’m not a fan of nuts in baking either but I can finish off a bag in no time! These look perfect for snacking on….although I probably won’t share them!
Glad to hear Im not the only one that’s very picky about how/when I like my nuts!
YUM! I just bought a pound of pecans to spice up. These look SO delicious. I love sweet and spicy.
Now that’s great timing!!
You are soooo right-they are a totally addicting snack! These look amazing!
Candied nuts are sooo good, but SO addicting. I can never get myself to stop popping them in my mouth!
And these are 1 million percent that way!