Once you pop, you can’t stop. These homemade cinnamon sugar candied nuts are crowd-pleasing, and dangerously simple!
Candied nuts swimming in a thick cinnamon-sugar crusted shell, the sweetly spiced aroma dancing around the house as you make them, and their bite-size addictive crunchiness… I just love everything about today’s treat. This classic is and has always been one of my very favorites around the holidays.
The recipe is from my mom’s dear friend Sharyn. My mom had one taste and has been making them for my family for years. When I went home over Thanksgiving, the first thing I needed… before any turkey or pumpkin pie… was this candied nut recipe.
Only about 10 minutes of prep work, 30 minutes of wait time, and about 5 minutes to eat an entire bowl of them.
This candied nut recipe will work for any kind of nuts, but I prefer using pecans because the cinnamon sugar goo gets stuck in the pecan’s little crevices. All of the pecan’s crinkles are enveloped with a thick layer of the sweet stuff. I also used almonds in today’s batch as wellโI wanted a second nut in the batch for a variety of texture. The sugared coating works well on almonds, but a smooth nut does not “catch” as much coating as a pecan. Peanuts, cashews, macadamiasโwhatever you’d like to use up in your pantryโwould also work as the second nut in this recipe, but make sure you use pecans as the primary base.
If you’re anything like me, you want a heavily coated nut and pecans will get you there.
So what’s in this magical candied coating? It’s an easy 5 ingredient mixture.
First, you’ll beat two egg whites and 2 tablespoons of water to a frothy, fluffy, cloud-like consistency with very stiff peaks. It took me about 4 minutes, beaten on medium-high, to get the egg whites and water to that point. You want this mixture to be as voluminous as possible because the sugar will weigh it down. Next, add the sugar.
Finally, mix in cinnamon and salt. I adore cinnamon in my recipes and, more often than not, have quite the heavy hand when pouring it. Cut down to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons at the minimum if you don’t care for as much cinnamon. The salt in this mixture cuts down on the sweetness and each bite is partly salty/partly sweet/partly spiced. A plethora of pleasant flavor profiles!
Once the sugar coating is ready, toss in the nuts and mix everything up well to cover every last morsel. Trust me, you want every inch of the nuts coated with a heavy blanket of the cinnamon/sugar/egg-whites, so make sure you do a job here.
Line a baking sheet with heavy duty parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. You’ll be thankful you didโI certainly don’t want burnt cinnamon sugar glaze stuck to my baking sheet. Spread the coated nuts over the lined sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 300F, stirring every 15 minutes to avoid burning. Warning: you’ll be so mesmerized by the glorious scent of the candied nuts roasting away in the kitchen, that you may just forget about anything else important in life. Like laundry in the dryer or a voicemail from your boss… just be aware of that in advance.
As the nuts cool, you’ll find little crunchy sugared coating bits that didn’t quite make it onto the nuts scattered around. Those may just be my favorite little bites. I could eat a bowl of just the crispy sugar coating! Package them up in little treat bags for your friends, munch on them while decorating holiday sugar cookies, or set them out at a holiday get-together, perhaps along with some sprinkle-loaded chocolate covered pretzels?
If you’re in need of another simple candy recipe, try my white chocolate caramel cashew clusters next!
Print
Candied Cinnamon-Sugar Nuts
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
That delicious holiday snack found at the mall can be made at home. And will have your house smelling like the holidays in no time! Makes a wonderful holiday gift.
Ingredients
- 5 cups pecan halves, unsalted
- 1 cup whole almonds, unsalted
- 2 egg whites
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ยฐF (149ยฐC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray; or use a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Mix pecans and almonds in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and water on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt, gently foldingย until combined.
- Pour/spoon sugar mixture over nuts and stir to coat completely. Spread nuts over the baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15. Allow to cool completely and enjoy.
- Store nuts at room temperature for a few weeks, covered.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Larger Batch: Recipe can easily be halved to keep around the house or doubled to feed a large crowd.
- This recipe comes from Sharyn, my mom’s wonderful friend. Thank you, Sharyn!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I added a little bit of vanilla extract to the egg whites and water before beating it. And also some allspice and cardamom alongside the cinnamon! Very excited for them to finish in the oven to give them a taste! Thank you for the recipe!
Could I use raw cashews or other nuts instead of the ones in the recipe? If so please let me know what measurements/ratios I can use. (Preferably cashews instead of almonds substitute.).
Thank you!
Hi Ian, yes, you can really use any nut or blend of nuts you enjoy here.
Warning: These are addictive! ๐
I made several recipes and have quite a bit of that delicious sugary topping. Do you think I could put it on top of coffee cake batter in place of the crumbs? I have about 1 & 3/4 cups of it!
Sounds delicious, Rose! Let use know if you give it a try.
Omgosh this recipe is the bomb! I made extra and gave them as gifts for family members who couldnโt join us for dinner. I later found out not all my gifts were received by the intended recipientsโฆ.they got eaten by other family members before they could be given out! I was told by these are so good they couldnโt help themselves!
I made these for Christmas, doubled the batch and gave as parting gifts. Everyone has asked for the recipe! I made more so I can take them to work.
This was amazing!!!
Sally Did it Again! This seems to be a pattern as this is the third time that we have had our own recipes for things and then tried Sallyโs version and immediately deleted the link to our old favorites! Everything was perfect in the recipe, so much so that I am making a second batch again this morning having just made the first one last night. Also I read the part about the saving the crumbles and truly now they have their own separate decorative dish next to the candied pecans. I think the key was not crowding the pecans into one sheet and switching the sheet pans and stirring the nuts every 15 minutes for the 45 minutes of recommended bake time.
Divine! Thank you!
So glad you love these, Vivienne!
2 egg whites, is that two tablespoons?
Hi Arthur, one large egg white is usually about 2 Tbsp, so two egg whites would be 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup)
Do you use raw nuts or roasted ?
Hi Morgan! Use raw nuts here. They roast/toast as they bake.
Just made these and they are quite delicious. One question: do you ever take them out sooner than 45 minutes? Some of the nuts became a little overdone and the coating burnt just a bit.
Hi Kevin, every oven can be a bit different, so certainly feel free to take them out a bit earlier if you find them starting to burn. We’re glad you enjoyed them!
Can I use just almonds, or almonds and walnuts? I have an abundance of both.
Hi Racquel, yes, you can really use any nut or blend of nuts you enjoy here.
Can I use roasted cashews, or will those burn since they have already been roasted?
Hi Heather, weโve made these candied nuts both ways (using either raw and dry roasted) and both turned out well!
My family calls these โcrack” nuts! Thatโs how good they are! After making my first batch, ahead of time, I realized I needed to make a second batch because I ate the first one well before I planned to serve them. So I think itโs funny that you even have a comment about halving the recipe, thatโs just silly! And really? Theyโre good for a few weeks? How would you know that?, they donโt last a day or 2 at the most. So yes, I really love this recipe! Thank you!!!
So glad you love these, Lisa!
I make these nuts and sell them for a fund raiser among many more of your recipes. Because I have so many items to bake, I have to make many items in advance. I FREEZE THE NUTS IN AIR TIGHT BAGS AND THEY ALWAYS KEEP WELL. Repeat customers always rave about these nuts. Donโt be afraid to freeze these nuts.