Candied Walnuts are so easy to make with just a few ingredients. An addictive snack and perfect to top an ice cream sundae. This is a version of my mom’s secret recipe and a favorite to add to holiday gift baskets!
Walnuts are delicious but toasted walnuts are even better. This simple candied walnuts recipe adds a second step that toasts the walnuts with the brown sugar coating and they are the most delicious candied nut that I’ve ever tried!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Candied Walnuts
Brown Sugar
Butter
Water
Kosher Salt
Vanilla Extract
Walnut Halves
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How to Make Candied Walnuts
Add brown sugar, butter, water and salt to a pan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and boil about 1 minute.
3.Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Quickly mix in walnuts until well coated using a silicone spatula.
5. Pour onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. A silpat is a silicone baking mat that is perfect for everything from baking cookies to frozen pizzas.
Candied nuts will last about a week at room temperature in an airtight container (these are my favorite deli containers for storing everything). Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 3 months.
Nuts are best served at room temperature.
Recipe Variations for Candied Nuts
Pecans can be substituted for walnuts.
Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the brown sugar mixture.
A pinch of red pepper can also go in with the brown sugar mixture for a sweet and spicy candied nut.
Serve candied nuts as an appetizer along with our Spicy Chex Mix for holiday gatherings and it’s also a great addition to a desserts table.
I make holiday goodie baskets for family and neighbors every Christmas and these Candied Walnuts are going to be the favorite this year. I found these super cute jars with lids from Amazon and they are perfect for making a homemade treat something special.
Delicious Walnut Treats
Two Tone Fudge
Layers of butterscotch and chocolate fudge loaded with crunchy walnuts. This is a holiday favorite from my mother in law's recipe box.
Easy Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Simple chocolate chip cookies loaded with crunchy walnuts. An easy treat for any day of the week and delicious enough for a holidays and celebrations.
Rich, fudge brownies filled with toasted walnuts and caramel chips for a decadent and delicious dessert.
Walnut Cinnamon Twists
All the flavors of a cinnamon roll in a light and fluffy bread twist with crunchy walnuts and a sweet drizzle of icing.
Add candied walnuts to your favorite cookies, to top ice cream, or just as a tasty snack but they are also a delicious addition to salads.Once you see how easy and delicious these candied nuts are, you will be making them again and again.
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Print Recipe
Candied Walnuts
Candied Walnuts are so easy to make with just a few ingredients. An addictive snack and perfect to top an ice cream sundae. This is a version of my mom's secret recipe and a favorite to add to holiday gift baskets!
Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
Add brown sugar, water, butter and salt to a pan and place over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until all combined.
Bring to a boil and cook for about 1 minute.
Remove from heat, quickly stir in vanilla and walnuts. Mixing until well combined.
Pour onto lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Break apart and store in an airtight container.
Notes
Candied nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
Walnut skins can be bitter, but toasting them brings out a richer nuttiness and makes those skins easy to rub off. Many of the recipes here call for toasted walnuts but even if they don't, there's no reason to avoid doing so. It will make everything taste that much better.
How to Make Sure the Glazed Walnuts Don't Stick. Use a silicone baking mat such as a Silpat. Or line your baking sheet with parchment paper. It may help to spray your mat or paper with some cooking spray to help from sticking even more.
Cool completely before storing otherwise the residual heat will add steam to the airtight container and this excess moisture will cause your crispy candied walnuts to go soft.
All nuts do go rancid eventually, but as long as you cool them completely and then store them in an air-tight container, they should be good for about a month. What is this? You might also like our Candied Pecans recipe or Candied Almonds!
Nuts with higher fat content, like walnuts and pecans can also go rancid after a few months if stored at too warm a temperature. If you notice that your nuts have taken on a noticeably bitter, sour flavor, they may have entered this unfortunate phase.
Just toasting them in a dry pan or oven should be enough to revive them, but they'll also go in any recipe that requires nuts. We got through most of ours by toasting them with spices, to eat as nibbles or to add crunch to soups, stews and salads.
Shruti Bharadwaj, Senior Clinical Dietician, Narayana Hrudayalaya says soaking walnuts helps improve their digestibility and also remove phytic acid and tannin. "Soaking can also help prevent indigestion as it helps reduce gas forming compounds. It also reduces polyphenols and increase nutrient availability.
You'll notice that soaked walnuts do not have that astringent, mouth-puckering taste to them. This is because when soaking walnuts, the tannins are rinsed away, leaving behind a softer, more buttery nut. The soak water from nuts and seeds should always be discarded and never used as water in a recipe.
How Long Do Candied Pecans Last? Store your candied pecans in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. If you give them as a gift, be sure to include storage instructions.
Walnuts go rancid when exposed to warm temperatures for long periods of time. Heat causes the fat in walnuts to change structure, which creates off odors and flavors. Fresh walnuts smell mildly nutty and taste sweet. If your walnuts smell like paint thinner, you know they're rancid.
Experts agree that to reap the benefits, one should soak the walnuts for about 6-7 hours or overnight. And on an average, a healthy individual can have 3-4 soaked pieces of walnuts.
To make rancid walnuts tasty again, a "chemical engineer" (consulted for this purpose) advises to soak the rancid walnuts in milk or other emulsive ingredient which is then rinsed off with hot water, and the nuts gently dried and roasted with sea salt.
Is it safe to consume old nuts and dates after their expiration date? Yes. An expiration date is just when the grocery stores should pull them from the shelves. As long as the nuts aren't rancid, it is ok.
Is it dangerous? Eating rancid food won't make you sick, but the new molecules that form as oxidation occurs may lead to digestive issues. Rancid foods are also less nutritious because oxidation destroys the good fats and some of the vitamin content.
“nu*ts are expensive due to a series of factors related to their production, processing, and shipping. To start, nut trees typically take several years to mature enough to produce a substantial harvest. Once ripe, harvesting nuts like macadamias is labor-intensive and manual.
Shruti Bharadwaj, Senior Clinical Dietician, Narayana Hrudayalaya says soaking walnuts helps improve their digestibility and also remove phytic acid and tannin. "Soaking can also help prevent indigestion as it helps reduce gas forming compounds. It also reduces polyphenols and increase nutrient availability.
"Soaked almonds and walnuts are healthier than having them raw, because the process of soaking makes them more digestible and more easily absorbed in the body. So, all the nutrients and vitamins that they have, almost doubled up in the bio availability of those vitamins, when they are consumed soaked.
Walnuts, like many nuts, contain natural compounds that inhibit enzyme activity and can make them harder to digest. Soaking these nuts helps neutralize these compounds, breaking down enzymes that can interfere with nutrient absorption and digestion.
Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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