Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (2024)

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by Beth - Budget Bytes

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4.58 from 7 votes

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These crunchy little devils are dangerous. They’re addictively sweet, rich, crunchy, and nutty. I made this “small batch” recipe to not only keep myself from eating two cups of candied walnuts at once, but also because walnuts are expensive and I wanted to save the rest of the bag for other non-candied purposes. Sometimes you just need a little “sprankle-sprankle” of candied goodness on your meal and not a mountain of candied walnuts with no dedicated use. A mountain is great if you’re having a party, but not for everyday purposes.

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (2)

What’s in Candied Walnuts?

The super simple candy coating on these walnuts is just brown sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt. Yep, that’s it! That’s all you need to make that delectably rich toffee coating. This is a dangerous piece of knowledge, use it wisely.

You can also play around with adding some other herbs and spices to your candied walnuts. A pinch or two of cayenne pepper would be amazing with the brown sugar and butter candy coating, as would vanilla, cinnamon, or ginger.

How Do You Use Candied Walnuts?

Candied walnuts are a great topping for several things. Most recently I used the sweet and crunchy nuts to top an Autumn Kale and Apple Salad. They’re also great on top of ice cream or ice cream sundaes, yogurt or yogurt parfaits, a bowl of oatmeal, or even added to granola (after cooking). A small bowl of candied walnuts also makes a great addition to a cheese board (hello holiday entertaining!).

How Long Do Candied Walnuts Last?

As long as it takes you to eat them! Ba-dum-dum. Okay, all bad dad jokes aside, these candied walnuts will last quite a while. 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.

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (3)

You might also like our Candied Pecans recipe or Candied Almonds!

Small Batch Candied Walnuts

4.58 from 7 votes

This small batch of crunchy candied walnuts is just the right amount of sweet, crunchy, and nutty topping for salads, desserts, oats, and more.

Author: Beth – Budget Bytes

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (4)

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (5) Servings 4 2 Tbsp each

Prep 0 minutes mins

Cook 5 minutes mins

Cool Time 10 minutes mins

Total 15 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 Tbsp butter ($0.07)
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
  • 1 pinch salt ($0.01)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts ($0.60)

Instructions

  • Add the butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small non-stick skillet. Heat over medium until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is just beginning to sizzle around the edges (it should still look grainy).

  • Add the walnuts (chopped or whole) and stir to coat in the brown sugar mixture. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat for 2-4 minutes, or until the brown sugar is fully melted and coating the walnuts (it should look glassy, not grainy). If the sugar is not melting, raise the heat slightly.

  • Remove the skillet from the heat immediately, as the sugar can go from melted to burning quickly. Spread the candied nuts out over a sheet of parchment paper, making sure they are in a flat layer and separated as much as possible.

  • Allow the nuts to cool fully (about 10 minutes). The candy coating will fully harden as they cool.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 2TbspCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2.5gFat: 11.38gSodium: 109.45mgFiber: 1g

Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

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How to Make Candied Walnuts – Step by Step Photos

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (7)

Add 1/2 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small non-stick skillet.

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (8)

Heat and stir the brown sugar and butter until the butter is melted and the brown sugar is just starting to sizzle around the edges. It should kind of look like grainy lava, like in the photo above. Add a 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped or whole) and stir to coat in the brown sugar mixture. Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (9)

Keep cooking and stirring for 2-3 minutes more, until the brown sugar is fully melted and coating the walnuts (it should look glassy, not grainy). If the sugar is not melting, raise the heat slightly. Once the sugar is melted, remove the skillet from the heat immediately because the brown sugar can go from melted to burning quickly. Spread the walnuts out onto a piece of parchment paper, in a single layer, trying to separate them as much as possible. Let the nuts cool completely (about 10 minutes). The candy coating will harden further as they cool.

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Enjoy your crunchy candied walnuts on top of salads, yogurt, ice cream, oats, or any of your other favorite foods!

Small Batch Crunchy Candied Walnuts (2024)

FAQs

Why are my candied walnuts grainy? ›

The sugar will look grainy until the melting/liquifying process happens at the very end. Immediately transfer nuts to parchment paper and separate using 2 forks OR let the nuts harden together and break them apart with your fingers once cooled.

How do you keep candied walnuts from sticking together? ›

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.

Do candied walnuts go bad? ›

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.

How to make candied nuts not sticky? ›

Pecans too sticky: If your nuts are still sticky after cooling, heat your oven to 325°F (162°C) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes to help harden the candy coating.

Why is my hard candy grainy? ›

The problem is that crystals of sugar were re-introduced into the liquid candy. This will cause your candy to crystallize and become grainy. To prevent this, (stove-top method only) wipe down the inner sides of your pan a few times with a wet pastry brush while your candy is boiling.

Why are my candied almonds not crunchy? ›

Usually if the almonds are soft after candying it means that they weren't cooked for long enough.

Do I need to refrigerate candied nuts? ›

Storage Instructions: Candied nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for several weeks. Freezing Instructions: They freeze well in an air-tight container for up to two months. Nuts: use any kind of nuts with this recipe, like walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, or pistachios.

Why do you soak walnuts in water? ›

Walnuts contain natural compounds, including tannins, which contribute to their bitter taste. Soaking walnuts in water can help reduce the bitterness by leaching out some of these compounds.

When should you throw out walnuts? ›

If your walnuts smell like paint thinner, you know they're rancid. And if they're rancid, you should throw them away!

How to get rid of rancid taste in walnuts? ›

Bake the nuts for 10 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, shake the pan and flip the nuts to ensure that they toast evenly. Remove the nuts from the oven and let them cool. Use the nuts in another recipe or have them as a snack!

Can rancid walnuts make you sick? ›

“If a nut is really oxidized, I guarantee you you're not going to get it past your mouth because it just tastes so awful,” says Schaich. But if you do, for some reason, eating the occasional spoiled nut is “no big deal,” because we have enzymes in our stomachs that can essentially incinerate the oxidation byproducts.

Why are my candied walnuts soft? ›

Let the candied nuts cool for at least 20 minutes or until completely cool. You don't want to package warm nuts or the moisture will cause condensation which will soften the candy coating.

Why are my candied nuts wet? ›

If your candied pecans are sticky, it is likely because the sugar syrup coating has not completely hardened. The syrup may still be wet, or it may have started to crystalize. If the syrup is still wet, you can try putting the nuts in the oven for a few minutes to help the syrup harden.

How do you keep nuts crispy? ›

Here Is the Nourishing Traditions Method for Crispy Nuts:

Soak 4 cups raw nuts in sea salt and filtered water to cover in a warm place at least 7 hours. Drain and spread in a single layer (I found that part out by experience) on pans and dry in an oven on its lowest temp for 12-24 hours. Freshly shelled nuts are best.

Why is my glaze gritty? ›

If you are getting a grainy, rough or matte surface on your clear glaze, it is often caused by either a thin application of clear glaze or an underfiring of the glaze. Mixing non-toxic & toxic glazes: Toxic and non-toxic formulas can be very different so we do not suggest you try this.

Why is my brown sugar grainy? ›

Essentially, brown sugar hardens when moisture evaporates due to aging or improper storage. But hardened sugar is still safe to eat and use—you just have to soften it back up to a usable texture. If your recipe has the sugar dissolving or melting into a liquid, you can actually use the hardened stuff without issue.

What makes cooked icing grainy? ›

If your frosting tend to be too warm or too cold it will appear grainy or chunky. Take note on the milk adding in have to be in room temperature as well.

Why is my peanut brittle grainy? ›

What's important to know is that the corn syrup controls the grain of the brittle so adding too little and you have a grainy textured brittle, while adding too much will result in a stringy and sticky brittle. To start this Peanut Brittle, the water, corn syrup, sugar, raw peanuts, and salt are brought to a boil.

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