Super Simple Sugared Nuts
They say that necessity is the mother of invention–and perhaps it’s the mother of reinvention as well. But when I needed glazed nuts for an upcoming salad recipe, I almost did something bad.
Sugared Nuts in a Dish
I almost added them to my shopping list. Never mind that I have a 5 lb box of walnuts in the freezer. Which was getting old. Or that I’m in the middle of a Kitchen Cupboard (Spring) Cleaning project.
Hold it, wait, I could make my own Sugared Nuts!
Raw Pecans
You see, I’ve collected, torn out, bookmarked and otherwise squirreled away glazed nut recipes for many years. I had even tasted one of the recipes. A former Administrative Assistant included some in a Christmas food gift (did she know me!) and my family enjoyed them so much I asked her for the recipe.
When I found the recipe, it was clear that this would indeed be manageable–I even had all the ingredients (except nutmeg– who needs nutmeg)! Best of all the process required virtually no attention. You mix up the glaze, toss in the nuts, then bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes–which means I could set a timer and do this completely without thinking! I was making muffins at the same time and the activities worked together perfectly.
Luv’ those nuts!
The nuts came out great, with a sweet, roasted-nutty flavor, but there was one problem. When I looked at the recipe I though it looked like a lot of nuts so I halved it. When the nuts cooled, however, I couldn’t stop munching. Then my daughter came home and she couldn’t stop munching.
Just in time, I rescued enough for the salad. Whew! Salad (and Kitchen Cupboard Cleaning mission) saved!
Sugared Nuts Up Close
Sugared Nuts
Ingredients
- ½ c sugar
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t nutmeg (I omitted this)
- ¼ t cinnamon
- 1/8 t cloves
- 1 lg egg white
- 1 c each (total 3) unsalted walnuts, pecans, cashews
Directions
1. Beat egg white until frothy.
Beat egg
2. Add nuts and spices and stir to coat well.
Coat nuts
3. Spread out on greased 11 x 17 inch baking sheet. Bake in 250 degree oven for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes (or it turns out like peanut brittle).
Sugared Nuts on Baking Sheet
4. Cool completely. Store in airtight container. Makes 3 cups.
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These look very very good! My family loves nuts but tend to lean towards the flavored/salty/sweet ones if offered the opportunity. This would make a very special treat!
These were just dangerous! It was good that I had to save some for the salad!
This is the kind of dangerous I like! How delightful, and how sort of healthy too. Nuts are good for us, and we can pretend all the sugar isn’t there, except that it will make us eat even more healthful nuts!
I completely agree–much harder to “put on the brakes” with that sugar coating. But since they are so good I think I’ll be “living dangerously” sometimes 😉
your heart-shaped ingredients made me smile. 🙂 i love making my own candied nuts–i always have some on hand!
Thanks, Grace, I had fun with that picture! I’d love to have these around all the time–but it might be dangerous!
Inger, these do look really good. I will try to remember this for next Christmas! It would be a great gift to share.
These are great to put out during the holidays too.
Oh, these look absolutely tasty!
Thanks! Stay tuned–I’ll be posting a salad with them if that is good too!