Homemade Cinnamon Candied Nuts

Don't you just love the smell of the candied nuts at the mall or at a fair. I always have a hard time resisting.

These will make the perfect "hostess gift" for that holiday party. And nobody will believe you did it yourself at home. What could be better? Plus it's an easy cook. A 2/10 (maybe a 1/10) skill level. It's time to impress your friends with you cooking ability.

I started with looking at crock pot recipes since they are always easy... right. Nope, really they were more work. You had to go back to the pot frequent to stir for hours. There were stove top methods but they are full of "cooking stuff" that increased the skill (read more likely that I would mess up) and more importantly the work level was higher. The oven recipes are the obvious choice. I have no specific "inspiration" recipe here, since there were many that were close to what I did.
 
Rating

 Worthy of holiday giving.

Notes:
Be sure to use raw nuts not roasted. I used almonds but pecans or walnuts all should be fine and I put that option in the recipe.
There are several variations suggested out there. Some use all or half brown sugar for the white sugar. Some increase the sugar, some decrease it. Some are using splenda as part of the sugar (low carb/diabetics). Some double the cinnamon or added a little cumin for that "sugar and spice" taste. A few increase cooking time to make the nuts crispier. But I thing this later group have oven temperature issues.

 Preheat oven to 250. Prep a large baking pan with a large sheet of parchment paper that over hangs all edges of the pan.

Mix 3/4 cup sugar (white or a combination white and brown) with 1 t cinnamon and 1/2 t salt. Mix well.

One egg white in a mixing bowl, add 1 t vanilla and 1 T water. Whip with a whisk until foamy. About 1 minute.

Add one pound of raw nuts and mix until nuts are coated. I used almonds but pecans or walnuts would be great also. How about a mixture...

 Add the sugar mixture to the nuts and mix to coat.

 Pour the nuts onto the parchment paper covered pan and spread into a single layer.

Place in the 250 degree oven. About every 15 minutes flip and stir the nuts and then flatten into single layer again. Total cooking time 1 hour.

Remove from oven and allow the nuts to cool on the parchment paper.

Simple Candied Nuts

by DrDan at 101 Cooking for Two December-1-2012

Don't you just love the smell of the candied nuts at the mall or at a fair. These make the perfect "hostess gift" for that holiday party. Nobody will believe you did it yourself. Now you can do them at home. What could be better? Plus it's an easy cook. A 2/10 (maybe a 1/10) skill level. It's time to impress your friends about you cooking ability.

Ingredients

• 1 pound raw nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts)
• 1 egg white
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 T water
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 250. Prep a large baking pan with a large sheet of parchment paper that over hangs all edges of the pan.2) Mix 3/4 cup sugar (white or a combination white and brown) with 1 t cinnamon and 1/2 t salt. Mix well.3) One egg white in a mixing bowl, add 1 t vanilla and 1 T water. Whip with a whisk until foamy. About 1 minute.4) Add one pound of raw nuts and mix until nuts are coated. I used almonds but pecans or walnuts would be great also. 5) Add the sugar mixture to the nuts and mix to coat.6) Pour the nuts onto the parchment paper covered pan and spread into a single layer.7) Place in the 250 degree oven. About every 15 minutes flip and stir the nuts and then flatten into single layer again. Total cooking time 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow the nuts to cool on the parchment paper.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 1 lb of nuts

Updated

February 23 2013

DrDan