Candied Nuts

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 8

Ingredients

4 cups pecans
2 cups sliced almonds
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sprinkle of salt

Instructions

Instructions
Add the pecans, sliced almonds, sugar, water, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to a large sauté pan. Stir to combine.
Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly. At first, it may seem like nothing is happening. Keep stirring—the mixture will eventually come to a simmer.
Once the mixture begins simmering, stay with it and continue stirring. Do not walk away at this point. The water will gradually cook off, and the sugar mixture will begin to thicken.
Continue stirring constantly as the mixture gets thicker. It may feel like you're stirring forever, but once the sugar begins to crystallize, it happens very quickly. There's a fine line between beautifully crystallized sugar and burnt sugar, so keep stirring and watch it closely.
As soon as the sugar crystallizes and the nuts have a dry, sugary coating, immediately remove the pan from the heat and dump the nuts onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Spread them out and allow them to cool completely. Break apart any clusters as desired and enjoy.

Notes

Serving Ideas
Eat them straight from the pan, toss them onto a fall salad, add them to a charcuterie board, or use them as a topping for carrot cake, spice cake, cupcakes, or other fall desserts. Basically, anywhere you'd normally add nuts, these are even better.
Recipe note: You can change up the combination of nuts as long as you use 6 cups total. I love 4 cups pecans + 2 cups sliced almonds because you get a great mix of textures.

Course: Snack