Quick, 10-Minute Candied Walnuts
Quick candied walnuts take just 10 minutes to make. A terrific snack. These walnuts are also a delicious way to add nutty crunch to salads, or dress up a cake.
My family has diverse opinions when it comes to food. Salads are a frequent source of debate — and occasional friction. One or two folks are okay with cheese in a salad. Others hate it. I’m passionate about crunch and love a good crouton. Nobody else likes croutons.
So, as I was working on salad recipes for the holiday season, I decided to use candied nuts. At first pass, nobody wanted nuts in their salad, and everybody suggested I add the nuts to my own plate of salad at the table. I refused, and added the nuts to the salad bowl instead. To my family’s surprise, they actually enjoyed the walnuts, and your family will too.
These nuts are very lightly sweetened. So, they strike a nice balance with tart, seasonal ingredients, like cranberries. They’re also delicious with vinaigrette. Once you learn how easy they are to make, I’m willing to bet you’ll find lots of other uses for these walnuts — and for the technique.
Why Walnuts?
You may well wonder why I chose to use walnuts rather than pecans or almonds — which are also delicious. Personally, I always associate the rich flavour of walnuts with the holidays, and cracking nuts around the fire. However, I also chose them because they’re super healthy!
Walnuts are richer in antioxidants than other common nuts. Eating walnuts can help reduce oxidative stress and they have been proven to reduce the negative effects of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Walnuts are also among the best plant-based sources of Omega 3s, which could further reduce your risk of heart disease.
In addition, walnuts:
- Support a healthy gut,
- May help prevent some forms of cancer, such as breast, prostate and colorectal cancers,
- May be an effective appetite suppressant,
- May help reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes,
- May help improve your blood pressure,
- May help support healthy brain function as you age, and
- May support male reproductive health.
With health benefits like these, walnuts are an excellent food to add to your diet.
About this Recipe
Candied walnuts are very easy to make. However, they are not something to make when you are multi-tasking. As with any nut, walnuts can go from perfect to burnt in an instant. So, make these nuts when you have a couple of minutes to hang out and make sure you get them out of the oven at the right time.
Then, there is the sugar. I’m well aware that caster sugar is not widely available everywhere. If you can’t get caster (or superfine) sugar, it isn’t a train smash. However, you’ll need to be a little bit more patient to get the sugar crystals to dissolve in the water. If you don’t, the sugar will stick to the walnuts just fine, but it will give the finished nuts a rougher finish.
Other Recipes that Use Candied Walnuts
| Cranberry Orange Spinach Salad |  |
Other than that, you’ll find this recipe is as easy as 1-2-3. I hope your family enjoys these tasty nuts every bit as much as mine does. Bon appétit!
Quick Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup shelled walnuts (broken nuts are fine too)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190º and line a baking tray with parchment.
- Stir the sugar and water together in a small bowl. Add the walnuts and toss until the nuts are thoroughly covered in the sugar and water.
- Spread the nuts in an even layer on the lined baking tray. Then, pop them in the oven for 6-8 minutes, or just until golden brown and toasty.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly before using.
Notes
Keep a close eye on the oven while you are baking the walnuts, as nuts can go from golden brown to black in a heartbeat.
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