Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts
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You won’t believe how easy this is to make, and it’s the perfect budget-friendly gift for family and friends!
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Candied nuts. What a holiday staple! Made so easily on a sheet pan (thank you parchment paper for a quick and easy clean up), and so perfect for snacking, entertaining or gifting. These bad boys disappear fast though so a double batch may be absolutely necessary here.
why make candied nuts at home
- Budget-friendly. Candied pecans or candied almonds are so easy to make with a short ingredient list (about 5-6 ingredients) using pantry staples.
- Versatile. Great for salad toppings, appetizers, cheese boards and holiday snacking.
- Makes for great gifts. Candied nuts also make for a lovely last-minute holiday treat for friends, family, teachers, neighbors, dog walkers and co-workers.
Ingredients
Egg white
This serves as a great binder to help the cinnamon sugar coating adhere to the nuts.
Sugar and brown sugar
A combination of granulated and light brown sugar is ideal. Coconut sugar can also be substituted.
Cinnamon
A good quality cinnamon is best.
Nuts
Use a combination of your favorite nuts! Just be sure to start with raw, unsalted nuts to avoid any unwanted added flavors.
tips and tricks for success
- Try different nuts. You can use your favorite combination of nuts – almonds, pecans, walnuts, or cashews – all of them will work very well here.
- Double the recipe. Need a big batch? The recipe can easily be doubled using two sheet pans to avoid overcrowded pans.
- Mix it up. Add chopped fresh herbs (thyme or rosemary) or a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little bit of heat!
Tools For This Recipe
Baking sheet
Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts: Frequently Asked Questions
Any combination of almonds, pecans, walnuts or cashews are all solid choices.
Store-bought cinnamon sugar is fine to use in a pinch but we recommend making it homemade (using granulated sugar, light brown sugar and good quality cinnamon) for the best results possible. This allows you to control the cinnamon-sugar-ratio for the most perfect spice level.
You can add a little bit of chili powder or cayenne pepper for a kick of heat!
Candied nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
Pack them into mason jars or clear gift bags, tied off with a ribbon or bow.
Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 1 cup raw pecans
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and 1 tablespoon water until frothy, about 2 minutes; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugars and cinnamon; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine almonds, pecans and egg white mixture until well combined. Stir in brown sugar mixture until evenly coated.
- Spread almond mixture onto prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at halftime.
- Let cool completely before serving.
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During the holidays, my daughter and I always have to pick these up at a local homespun gift shop. Now that she has moved to Seattle area..it is not near as often sadly. This recipe is as close to it as I have ever tasted! These were so easy to make and brought back special memories to me…Thanks for your post
Mine turned out all sticky after cooling. What did I do wrong and is there anyway to fix them????
Not sure if you can fix it – you can try tossing it in some more cinnamon sugar. Did you follow the recipe exactly as is?
I love this and want to make them for Christmas presents, but some of the people I’d be giving them to don’t eat eggs 🙁
Any ideas on what I could do to make them egg-free?
You can try substituting maple syrup but I should tell you that the flavors of the nuts can significantly change with this ingredient.
Would baking these on a parchment paper sheet work? Or would foil be better? I have an aversion to not lining baking sheets…lol
Yes, definitely line your baking sheet with parchment paper. It’s noted in the first step of the instructions.
I’m wondering if you can make these ahead and then freeze them until needed. I want to make jars of them as gifts to my neighbors but would like to make them a batch at a time. I have back problems that make standing for long times very difficult and it would be nice to be able to make the batches a little at a time and freeze them.
I’m honestly not too sure if this can be frozen as I have never done it myself. These nuts do have a shelf life for about a month in an airtight container.
Made these today…they are almost gone =) Thanks to you and Averie for the delicious (and addicting) recipe! Yum!
I’m so glad you had a chance to make these! They sure are addicting!
So yummy!!!
My family makes these in a crockpot during the holidays. I can’t stop eating them because they remind me of cinnamon rolls! Just looking at those pictures makes me hungry:)
how can these be made in the crock pot?
and can they be made with just the peanuts?
Love the site!!
Thank you, Renee! In response to your crock pot question, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate this recipe to the slow cooker method as I have never done that myself. You can certainly use peanuts but you may have to adjust cooking time as needed.
How do you cook these in a crockpot?
Oh that would be one dangerously delicious jar to have around the house, love these!
Can’t wait to try these, I am wondering how long you can store them? Thanks!
About 3-4 weeks.
Awesome Thanks!!!!
There’s never any left to worry about storing in my house.
How to store.. refigate?
You can store them in the pantry, refrigerator or freezer. If storing at room temperature, I recommend using an airtight glass or plastic container. Hope that helps, Cheryl.
Thank you for the nice and easy recipe. Happy Halloween.
Hi liz your recipe looks amazing just waiting to try it, but one quick Q can we make it without eggs
In india many people avoid eggs thanks KIRAN
Kiran, you cannot omit the eggs as there is no binder for the coating to stick. Please find an alternate substitute suitable to your dietary restrictions.
If you lessened the amount of sugar (maybe just replace the white sugar entirely), couldn’t you use honey to make the coating stick?
You can certainly give that a try but that sounds like adding unwanted sweetness and a sticky mess, making these to be a lot more difficult than it should be!
You can make these in a skillet first…. Cup of water cup of sugar, cinnamon and cook till clear/slow boil then add nuts and stir till they are “candied” then you can put in a slow oven for 15-20 min. This is how I make them.
3 cups almonds, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup water, dissolve sugar, cinnamon in non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add almonds, keep stirring til the sugars get grainy, and liquid dries up. Put on parchment or wax paper to cool. No eggs required!
Looks lovely and delicious. What a great gift idea! 🙂
So simple and so flavorful!
These look good! And easy too. I love candied nuts. These would be great on top of a salad. Yum!
Love candied nuts and can’t ever have enough recipes, this one looks amazing!
I could eat that entire batch on my own. Yum! Pinning these to my holiday gift board.
YUMMO! I have to try these crusted nuts; I can save a heap of money and they look so easy. Your photos have captured the delicious nutty crust on these sugar bombs!
NICE, BUT, Its gonna cost $8.00 / $9.00 just for the nuts..
Yeah, pecans and Almonds are expensive. What do you expect to pay for 3 cups of mixed nuts that aren’t peanuts? A buck?
Yes, but less than a cup of these bought at a store will cost you the same. You can buy almost a whole pound of nuts at that price, and make more.
Thanks for trying my recipe! I’m so glad you did! Your photos are gorgeous! And better you than me with all these nuts laying around. I have no control with these things..LOL Pinned of course!
Dude, thanks for the AMAZING recipe! And the pin! I need to send you some as a thank-you 🙂
Will these store well? Or freeze? Want to make them for Christmas
This will store for about 3-4 weeks.