Glazed nuts, toffee nuts, caramelized nuts…whatever you call these sweet and salty bites, they are crunchy and delicious! And so easy to make. I mean really. These nuts come together in about 10 minutes. You can buy similar products in gourmet stores for outrageous prices that I never understand. Why should nuts cost 2 to 3 times as much because they have some sugar on them? Sugar is cheap!
I love these nuts on a salad, but they are delicious in just about any context. Chop and sprinkle them over pumpkin spice ice cream. Use them whole as a beautiful and delicious decoration for carrot cake or sweet potato pie. The spicy variations (see below) make great party snacks.
Just look how simple the ingredients are:
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Large pinch of kosher salt
- 3/4 cup nuts (I like pecan or walnut halves best)
Note: This recipe is easily doubled.
Put the brown sugar, water, butter and kosher salt in a heavy, preferably non-stick, skillet.
Bring to boil, stirring.
Boil for 1 minute before adding the nuts. I used pecans today, but you could use just about anything…walnuts, cashews, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts. Go crazy!
Stir and toss until the nuts are thoroughly coated with a glaze, about 3 minutes. If they start to smoke, take them off before they burn.
Transfer nuts to sheet of foil or parchment paper and quickly separate with forks.
The syrup may seem a little chewy at first, but it becomes crisp when it cools completely. The nuts keep for at least 3 days at room temperature and much longer in the fridge, but the real challenge is keeping them until you serve to use them.
Significant snacking will occur so make extra.
VARIATION: Add a little spice to the glaze. For instance, try 1/2 teaspoon of curry or cumin or whatever spice goes with what you’re serving. Or try 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne for a little kick.
Do you have to use kosher salt?
Yep.
What about using raw peanuts? Do I have to parch them first?
I would. – Heather
Did a double batch using macadamia, cashew and almond — threw in about half teaspoon of allspice and some red pepper flakes. Delicious on top of chocolate ice cream!
I think I followed this exactly and the nuts (peanuts) never became crunchy; it was more like nuts suspended in a soft caramel candy. Any idea why?
Try it at a higher temp. You want to burn the sugar without burning the nuts. I find that my nuts are perfect when they start to smoke a little. That let’s you know that the sugar is burning (which is really what caramelized anything is, burnt sugar). Just a note that the nuts won’t be crunchy while still hot in the pan because that keeps the sugar molten. The burnt sugar hardens on the nuts start to cool. Good luck! – Heather
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yummmm! there’s always a ton of extra nuts hanging around in my host fam’s house and i’m stoked to make this for munchies. seems like they’d be really good for munching on while making thanksgiving dinner!
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Thank the heavens I finally round a recipe that has you boil the sugar and butter first. I’ve been making batches of sweet & savory nuts for weeks now to find the sugar and spices just clump into balls of flavor and don’t stick to the nuts. I used this method and added cayenne, fresh chopped rosemary and then salted at the end. Delish!
Very nice! I love the idea of adding rosemary. Happy Holidays! — H
Mmm candied nuts are definitely a weakness of mine…especially around the holidays! I bet these would also be tasty on top of oatmeal.
Hi again Heather. Usually I like to toast nuts for more crunch and better flavor. I was wondering if the nuts in this recipe get that from their time in the pan with the sugar syrup or would it be good to lightly toast them first? They look nicely browned but I wasn’t sure if that was from the brown sugar or the nuts getting toasty. thanks!
Hi Pam, I toast my nuts in most situations. However, in this recipe, it’s not necessary. The cooking process results in nice fragrant crunchy nut without pretoasting. Best, Heather