candied walnuts

The best candied walnuts are baked in the oven. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Knowing how to make them pays off, and there are plenty of reasons to stock up on candied walnuts. First of all, it can be very expensive to buy. Second, they are infinitely nibbleable. And they have a knack for making salads, popcorn, sprinkles and cheeseboards extra special. Once you find a great basic candied walnut recipe and technique, you can tweak it in a thousand different ways with different spices, herbs, and flavors. Today we will talk about all of this.

What Makes Good Candied Walnuts?

This is subjective, of course, but I like candied walnuts with a thick, brown sugar rind. So much coating that it becomes difficult to see the definition in the curves and swirls of the walnuts. The optimal size of the walnut pieces is up for debate. The value of perfectly candied whole walnut halves is hard to dispute. It’s my preferred size for salads, snacks, and the like. But candied chopped walnuts, in smaller pieces, make a wonderful topping for ice cream cones, mix into popcorn, incorporate into fruit crumbles and crunchy toppings, or add to granola. I held this round with halves.

Baking versus pan?

There are two common methods for making candied walnuts – in the oven or in a nonstick pan. You’ll likely have success with either method, but let me tell you why I prefer to bake the walnuts. Toasting walnuts in a pan is always awkward. They’re ragged and where nuts touch the pan, they’ll either get too dark or the rest of the walnuts will stay too light. It’s harder to know when your sugar is hot enough to set if you’re using a pan. It’s basically automatic in the oven, so you don’t sweat as much. The oven envelops the walnuts in dry heat and they get toasted and browned that much better. The oven’s dry heat also seems to remove the water from the egg whites as the sugar toasts, resulting in crunchy candied walnuts. Exactly what you want when they’re completely cool.

Candied Walnuts: The Technique

I’m going to list a few important techniques and tricks here. That way, once you get deep into the recipe, you won’t fly over it.

• Spread walnuts: You’re going to go in there and stir these walnuts at TWO points minutes. Once to first brush the walnuts with the egg white. And once again, stir in the brown sugar mixture. really do it See photo below.
• Separate the walnuts for baking: Try to separate the walnuts so they don’t bake into lumps on the baking sheets.
• Avoid under-cheeks: Use all your senses to know when to pull the candied walnuts out of the oven. I’m looking for some things. Things should smell nice when you open the oven. The sugar coating should be a nice deep golden color around the edges where the coating touches the pan. You need to bake long enough for the sugar to bake and be snappy when cool.
• Let the walnuts cool completely: Allow the candied walnuts to cool about ten minutes before moving them around or removing them from the pan. They’re easier to break open, the texture is the best, and they don’t burn your mouth.

Variations:

There are endless opportunities to change things here. How about…

• Add some panache. Avoid the white pith and use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from a lemon, Meyer lemon, or orange. Cut into the thinnest slices. Stir into the sugar mixture.
• Experiment with spices and spice blends. My rule of thumb here is… if it’s good in a cookie or cake, it’ll probably be good here, too. Think of gingerbread spice, pumpkin pie spice, baharat, four spices.
• Try an alternative nut. Pecans are a great substitute. Or a mix of walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts. I also like to toss in some slivered almonds (with the shell on) into the mix.
• Crunchy chewy candied walnuts: Add some dried or freeze-dried fruits. You can use chopped figs or dates here. Or stir in chopped dried bananas and/or pineapple before baking.
• Rosemary Sesame Candied Walnuts: This is a version I used to make regularly. Add 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves, 1/4 cup sesame seeds, and 1/3 cup chopped dates or dried figs to the brown sugar mixture.
• Less sweet: Reduce the brown sugar to 1/2 cup.
• Spicy candied walnuts: Add a scant 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Keep the curry powder from the original recipe or omit it.
• Espresso candied walnuts: Add 2 tablespoons of finely ground espresso powder to the brown sugar. Omit curry powder.

How to serve candied walnuts

I scrapped a few ideas above, but there are so many great ways to serve candied walnuts. Use them:

• Always in salads. Use them in kale salad, apple salad, even this wedge salad as the icing on the cake.
• Alone or as part of a cheeseboard or (nowadays) butter board.
• As a topping to add crunch to mixed soups.
• As a component in a yoghurt or muesli bar for brunch.
• For baked goods. Incorporate them into your favorite quick breads and batters. Imagine a favorite gingerbread cookie or brownies sprinkled with candied walnuts!

How to store candied walnuts

You have a few options here. But the first step is to let them cool absolutely completely. Then store in an airtight container like a mason jar or reusable bag. Always close the container tightly after snacking. You can also freeze candied walnuts in a tightly sealed container for up to a few months.

The recipe makes a one-pound batch, so you’ll have plenty to share or just keep on hand. Here’s a photo of little baggies filled with candied walnuts, accented with rosemary and lots of sesame seeds. So delicious. Enjoy!

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