I’ve tried glazed nuts and spiced nuts in different combinations, but this recipe for candied nuts are the ones I long for when I run out.
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Candied nuts are a staple at German Christmas markets. The warm cinnamon scent permeates places like Cabela’s and the Belvedere Oasis. The best dine out salads contain either a candied element like nuts or a pickled element. Until that strawberry spinach salad at my friend’s house with sweet onion dressing, I hadn’t really considered making candied nuts at home. “It’s so easy” Beth promised me.
Imagine having an endless supply of candied nuts at home.
When I get an idea, I run with it to the extent of my abilities. What if…?
So I started experimenting.
I used Beth’s basic recipe and started experimenting. I tried it with slivered almonds, whole almonds, pecans, walnuts, the occasional peanut. I’d get a bag of mixed nuts…
I knew it was a slippery slope I was on. I found out that I don’t really like candied nuts on a savory salad. They really aren’t good to eat right before bed because they are a little challenging on the digestive system.
Before long I was dabbling in brittle and spending chunks of my grocery budget on nuts to feed my habit.
My husband humored me until I eventually got my fill. He’s pretty awesome like that.
And then I discovered my great-grandma’s recipes.
My great-grandmother clipped the candied nut recipe from a bag of Crystal Sugar. I moved it to the “not quite yet” pile of recipes because of the required use of a candy thermometer.
I have a mostly hate relationship with candy thermometers after breaking multiple by accidentally sticking them in water while they were still hot. I’ve also lost the clips that are supposed to keep them on the side of the pan. I’ve never wanted to spend the money to get the more expensive variety that may meet my expectations because I don’t use a thermometer that often. (Unless I just don’t use it that often because I didn’t like the thermometers I’ve had.)
I waited too long.
In the before time I brought these nuts to work as part of a themed potluck we were doing. It might’ve been breakfast buffet or cheese and crackers day. Whatever the reason, the nuts were gone before I left for the day and I handed out the recipe multiple times.
A Warning:
You will burn yourself while making this recipe. Just expect it. It may not be from sugar splatters. More likely a hot nut will find its way into your mouth and as you gasp from the searing pain, your hands will be reaching for another nut. It’s fine. Mouths heal quickly.
The Recipe:
Candied Nuts
Equipment
- Candy thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Crystal Sugar any granulated sugar will do
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- 2 TB Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 2 ½ Cups Pecans or any other nut
Instructions
- Combine sugar, sour cream, and butter in a 2 quart sauce pan.
- Boil until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (238° F) stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat.
- Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir until mixture begins to thicken.
- Add nuts and stir to combine.
- Turn out onto a buttered cookie sheet and separate nuts into individual nuts or clusters.
Notes
If you like this recipe, you may want to try Christmas Sugar Cookies and Peanut Brittle, Visions of Sugar Plums and Rosettes, and Ribbon Candy Bars.
The first time I heard about Church Windows cookies (are they cookies or are they candy?) was after our tree fell on our neighbor’s fence. It might be the biggest event this neighborhood has seen in a while. It was such a big event that as we were cutting it down, neighbors from the senior housing facility put out their chairs, plugged in their crockpots, and sat outside to watch. I treated them to some 
No matter what the recipe says about double boiler, melt the chocolate in the microwave. It’s so much easier. Put it in for a minute, stir it after a minute, it might need another 15 or 30 seconds, but it won’t need much more. Stirring these bad boys is hard. It’s messy and involved. 
Ok, so flavor…think something like rocky road. But vaguely fruity with coconut. They aren’t bad, but probably best in small doses.
I swear I am not just rambling about eggnog, I actually have a point. Nutmeg cookie rolls. YUM. A nice little stick of a cookie with rum and nutmeg flavors. I was hoping that this recipe would be nutmeg-y enough to be a suitable replacement for the drink and thus save me some room in the refrigerator. The verdict is that it’s just not quite creamy enough. These cookies are crisp and sweet. The nutmeg is sort of a warm afterthought. You can smell it as you bite into them, but it’s not the first flavor in your mouth. I decorated these with melted white chocolate and some red things to make them look festive. I think they kind of look like matches. Whatever.
Now, divinity. I’m sure if you read through cookbooks the way I do, you have seen recipes for divinity, but you may not know what it is. Imagine if meringue cookies and marshmallow fluff had a baby. Divinity is light fluffy clouds of vanilla flavor. They have a bit of a brittleness about them like the crunch of your feet on grass after the first frost. But instead of being cold, it’s warm and gentle. It’s not exactly sticky, but it’s kind of got the memory of being sticky. Nuts are optional here. I figured I had enough nutty things on my cookie tray and more would just make it unbalanced. 
Ok, so if you’ve made it through making butterscotch and anise candy, you may already know that making candy can be hard. Molten sugar is HOT! And sticky. And it will burn the crap out of you if you let it touch your skin. Cold water will harden the candy and help with the burn, but you need to act quickly. Anything that is over 200 degrees is going to hurt. Sticky things are worse. BE CAREFUL when pouring the hot syrup into the egg whites. Pouring slowly will lessen the chances of hot liquid splattering up at you. Scrape down the sides as necessary. When it is time to spoon out the warm candy, work quickly. It gets harder to scoop as it cools.
Growing up we went to a church that had a phenomenal Christmas bazaar every year. There were certain things that could not be missed. In the tearoom, you could sit and drink hot cider and eat a selection of Christmas cookies and cream puffs stuffed with chicken salad. There were the baked beans. Sadly that recipe didn’t make it into the church cookbook. I’ve been attempted to recreate the beans. My mom had the recipe at one point, but it might’ve gotten lost in a move. The beans were that good. 
You could tell it was time for the bazaar weeks ahead of time. The familiar fragrances of the church, the incense, Murphy’s oil soap, old wood, and beeswax, would start to become entwined with the smell of sugar and anise. 
At the bazaar, a cut glass punch bowl would be piled high with baggies full of jewel-like red and green candies. My siblings and I would always make sure that my mom bought at least one bag. There were a few years where I would bring my own money to secure my own bag. Anise is one of those flavors that not everyone likes. I get it. But it takes me back to those days of helping in the tearoom, exploring all the goodies, conversations in the kitchen with the “old” church ladies. And the color is so pretty and this anise flavor isn’t very strong. It’s more of the suggestion of anise than a powerful anise flavor. 
Since those days I have helped 2 churches start their Christmas bazaars. One turned into an event with a fancy wine and cheese night and silent auction. The other is an amalgamation of sewn crafts, canned food, lefsa, fresh bread, herb butters. I was the official bread maker for years. 
Ok, enough of the sentimental drivel and let’s get to cookies.
These real orange cookies are nothing short of amazing. They have a bright sunshiny flavor. They are crisper than I expected them to be, but in a welcome way. We decided to dress them up with a drizzle of white and dark chocolate. (Apologies to those friends who got plates before these were decorated. You are welcome to come over and get the decorated ones)
Butterscotch is my grandma’s favorite candy. In honor of her, I made this recipe. I tried coating it in some cornstarch and powdered sugar to keep it from sticking, but it clumped up and sort of looks terrible. It doesn’t affect the taste. The edges of it are very brittle, but the middle feels like the brown sugar didn’t dissolve all the way. But it doesn’t really matter. This is my husband’s top pick of candy. (Don’t tell him he’s like my grandma.) 
Seriously, look at the orange rind in that cookie. Don’t you just want to take a bite?
