The BEST Candied Nuts Recipe

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

3 Cups Sugar (I use Evaporated Cane Juice)

3 Tablespoons Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Cups Water

7 Cups of any Nuts/Seeds/Coconut (approx 1.75 pounds, measured & set-aside)

Directions

Line a Cookie Sheet with Wax or Parchment Paper and set-aside. Keep you oven-mitts handy too.

Measure out your Nuts or Seeds in a Medium Bowl and set-aside.

Place your pot on your stovetop over Medium heat. (I use this Cast Iron Dutch Oven – Cast Iron is wonderful for candy making & all types of cooking since it evenly distributes heat over the whole pan – even in the oven!)

With a Silicone spatula, mix together the Sugar, Cinnamon, Salt & Water in your pot – stirring occasionally during the first 5 minutes. Between 5-10 minutes, your mixture should start to bubble & foam.

Continue stirring regularly as the mixture continues to heat up for the next 10 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides of the pot as you go.

IMPORTANT

Be sure the mixture is truly at 238 degrees! If you add the nuts too early, or if the temp is not accurate, you will end up with a ‘stringy’ candy result (which can still be saved – see note section below). I sometimes hold the temp for an extra minute or so until I can see the mixture pull away from the bottom of the pan when I scrape it with a rubber spatula. It is crucial to any candy recipe that your candy thermometer is accurate – I test/calibrate mine regularly against boiling water which boils at 212 degrees F.

Once you reach the Soft Ball temperature, then work quickly to add your Nuts or Seeds to the mixture – using your spatula to continuously combine everything together – coating each Nut evenly. The coating will go from a shiny, stringy glaze to a dull, sugary coating in less than a minute. The coolness of the Nuts/Seeds will begin to crystalize the candy quickly. There should be no wet glaze leftover – it should have all crystalized.

Using your oven mitts to handle the pot, remove from heat & carefully dump out the candied nuts/seeds onto your prepared cookie sheet & set-aside to cool completely. Break apart any large pieces. I place my cookie sheet on a cooling rack to avoid any moisture during the cooling process.

Once the candy is cooled, you can store it in an airtight container or package it up for gift giving.