I love nuts of all kinds. They are delicious, healthy, and do a great job of helping you sustain energy and feel full. I love them raw, lightly salted, smoked……and especially these Spicy Candied Nuts. I have a great, simple recipe for candied nuts that make a perfect snack, party appetizer, or can be packed up as gifts.
You have a lot of flexibility with this recipe as well. I used mixed nuts for the variety, but you can choose to do just one kind of nut or omit one kind if you have a specific food allergy – I have a friend that is allergic to walnuts but can eat all other nuts. I also use cayenne pepper to spice this up a bit, but if you don’t like spicy foods, you can omit that, or if you like it HOT, you can add more. Honestly, you can add any spices you like. This recipe uses cinnamon, sea salt, and cayenne pepper – you could add nutmeg, ginger, cracked black pepper – I always suggest following a recipe pretty close the first time you make it and then play around a little more the next time you make it. I actually use this recipe – minus the cayenne – at the restaurant to candy nuts to pair with cheeses and to candy pumpkin seeds for a salad.
I hope you enjoy!!
Spicy Candied Nuts
Equipment
- whisk or hand mixer
- large mixing bowl
- heatproof rubber spatula
- 2 13 X 18 baking sheets
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds raw nuts, mixed or just used your favorite
- 3 egg whites
- 3 tbsp water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp kosher or sea salt
- 1-3 tbsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne if using. For a barely noticeable background heat, use one tablespoon cayenne and adjust up from there depending on what you like. Set this mixture aside.
- Place the egg whites and water in a large mixing bowl and vigorously whisk or mix on medium until soft peaks form.
- Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and toss to coat all the nuts in the egg whites. The egg white mixture will help the sugar and spice mixture adhere to the nuts.
- Once all the nuts are coated with the egg whites, add in the sugar mixture and toss to coat. Be sure there is no dry sugar/spice mixture settled in the bottom of the bowl.
- Spread the coated nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees stirring every 15 minutes.
- Allow the nuts to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a month or package in small containers to give to friends or guests attending a party.
