Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Pecans
True story: I made a new recipe for a big batch of dinner rolls that I was super excited to share with you, except… I didn’t like them. Boo hiss. They tasted rather bland and I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture. I’m always bummed when something turns out less than spectacular, especially when it’s something like yeast bread, which takes some time and effort.
To make myself feel better, I made something that only took 5 minutes, was absolutely delicious and insanely addicting. These candied pecans are more than worthy of sharing, in fact, I urge you to make these immediately. Put them on the appetizer and desserts tables for Thanksgiving, throw them in your salad, put them in jars for Christmas gifts, eat them by the handful… just make sure you have a good hiding place for them, because once you start eating them, you won’t be able to stop!
While I’ve seen candied nut recipes that require actual candy-making, i.e. using a candy thermometer and being very precise, these cinnamon-sugar pecans couldn’t have been easier. Simply coat the nuts in a mixture of egg whites, water and vanilla extract, then toss them into a cinnamon-sugar mixture, spread them onto a baking sheet and let the oven do the work. Do your best to let them to cool to room temperature before eating, serving or storing, but if you can go that long without snagging a few off of the baking sheet, you have more willpower than I do!
It’s a wonderful thing when a failure opens the door to something sinfully delicious, isn’t it?!
One year ago: Pumpkin Roll and Cheesy Creamed Corn Casserole
Two years ago: (Make Ahead) Homemade Gravy and Sausage, Fig & Cranberry Stuffing
Three years ago: Pecan Pie
Four years ago: Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Crisp Squares
Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Pecans
An incredibly easy recipe for candied pecans, perfect for holiday snacking or gift-giving!
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound pecan halves
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large zip-top bag, combine the sugar, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, water and vanilla extract. Add the pecans to the bowl and stir them into the egg white mixture with a rubber spatula, making sure they are all moistened. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pecans from the egg white mixture and drop them into the bag with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Once all of the pecans are added, seal the bag, and shake it to coat all of the pecans.
- Using a clean slotted spoon, remove the pecans from the bag and place onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 1 hour, stirring them every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. The pecans can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes:
Note: This recipe can be made with a variety of nuts, not just pecans. Feel free to change it up and use walnuts, almonds, pecans or a mix of your favorites.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
(Recipe adapted from Kevin & Amanda)
All images and text ©
These look fabulous and I love how easy they are!
I love these types of recipes. I make a candied walnut that is even easier. Just butter, water and brown sugar heated in a sauce pan then mixed with the nuts. Let the nuts dry on a cookie sheet and enjoy.
Would you mind sharing your exact recipe?
Thanks so much!
Would you mind sharing your recipe for candied nuts? Thank you!
I love nuts like this! I have a recipe that has espresso powder in the coating – insanely good!
can you please share your recipe that has the espresso powder in it? I would love to try them! Thank you.
I made some candied mixed nuts a few months ago and seriously had to give them away because I would have eaten the whole batch myself. Like 3 lbs of nuts…LOL Yours look great and an egg white is key for coating-sticking power!
Snacktastic! Love these and great for so many things..
Totally addicting! I always got the cinnamon almonds and the Civic Arena during Pens games!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Pecans are the only nut that our whole family can eat, because of allergies to all the other types. I cannot wait to try these. I will need to check to see if pecans are in the stores at this point. I live in the north and the only time that I can find them at an almost decent price is around Christmas.
I live in Central NY state and most of the stores around here have their nuts out already. Or at least the 3 chains that I’ve been in over the last week have. I know I saw pecans, almonds, walnuts, and mixed nuts at the very least.
I just bought 2 lbs. of pecan halves and 3 lbs of almonds at Costco today. Planning to make them using this recipe and giving as Christmas gifts!
Thank you for this recipe. It looks delicious! Any suggestions on which egg white substitute would work best for this recipe? My family has egg allergies (I don’t so my house will be enjoying these as presented!) but love candied nuts. I was thinking these would be nice to put on the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Hi Sandy, For this particular recipe, I’m not sure what an appropriate substitution would be. There are some other candied nut recipes floating around that simply cook the nuts on the stovetop in a butter and spice mixture; you may want to try to find one of those!
I once made Paula Deen’s Cinnamon Toast Pecans (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cinnamon-toast-pecans-recipe/index.html) which doesn’t use egg whites. They were good, but not as “candied” as I liked. The egg whites really help the spice mixture to stick and give the thicker coating.
I used flaxseed meal and it coated wonderfully! We have an egg allergy too! I use flaxseed meal for all my egg substitutes…other than breakfast eggs 🙂
for this recipe how much did you measure out by using flaxseed meal? I do not want to use egg or butter.
Mmm pecans are such a fabulous snack, and these totally take them to the next level! Yum!
These turned out wonderful! I recommend that you mix all the nuts in the bag at one time, I tried to do two batches in the one bag and the second batch can out wet but still as good 🙂 now I need to hide them for myself!!
I made a recipe very similar to this one and it was so much easier than having to deal with a candy thermometer! These are delicious AND addictive!
I made this exact recipe last year and couldnt keep enough made. Everyone loves them. It is a labor of love when you pick-up, shell and then make them. I gave as gifts in decorated jars to my family. I had to hid me a bag in the freezer and yes they do freeze well.
I made some amazing, addictive Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts from my blog as all of my wedding favors. They’ve been a favorite in my family ever since I made them last winter and passed them out as holiday gifts, so they went over really well at the wedding. Don’t you just love simple, no-fail recipes? I’m sorry your rolls didn’t work out! That fear of yeasted breads not turning out right is exactly what stops me from making them! You’re so brave!
I hate when recipes don’t turn out well! But at least these delicious nuts were a product of the failure, because theses look amazing! Pinning this recipe now – what a perfect snack to have out around the holidays!
This is a perfect snack to bring to a Thanksgiving dinner. I love that I don’t have to use a candy thermometer for this recipe!
Ooo! These would probably make great gifts. Candied nuts in a weck jar! Will definitely be trying this!
I love how simple this is!! I’m a huge fan of candied nuts. I go to Kris Kringle market thing-y every Christmas season and they have the most to-die-for candied nuts. These remind me of them!
These look stunning- pecans are my absolute favourite nut and they’re especially good at Christmas time!! They’re difficult to find in their shells here in the UK but the ready shelled ones are just as good I’m sure. Will definitely be giving them a go!
This is very like a recipe my cousin uses. I need to buy more pecans this week so I can make some. YUM!
I heard on the news that pecans are going to be sky high expensive this year, I guess it’s something about the weather and demand from China? If you give these away, you will certainly be giving not only a lovely hand-made gift, but no an inexpensive one either!
FYI: I bought 2 pounds of pecans at Sam’s, on sale for $10.98.
tasty!!! Are these better tasting than the recipe of sugar, water and spice on the nuts? That recipe looks too easy 🙂
You would have to post these. I love Mashuga Nuts(brand name of these years ago. Don’t know if they are still around). Anyway, addictive yes, highly.
How do I print off this recipe?
Just click the “Print” button right above the thumbnail of the recipe.
These look addictive in the best possible way!
I’ll definitely try them! what if I don’t put the egg whites and just put water in order the help the sugar stick on the nuts??!
Hi Stella, You could try that, I’m not sure how well it will work, since the egg white actually gets frothy.
Making these as I type except I’m using almonds not pecans. They look and smell absolutely amazing!! Everyone is migrating to the kitchen from all over the house to find out what the delicious smell is. Lol. I hope they taste as good as they look. Thanks so much for the recipe. I too will be making these as pressies for Christmas xx
This is the only way my daughter will eat nuts, so I will definitely be making these. And it sounds easy enough for her to help, too.
These look delicious and easy. What a great snack for holiday parties! 🙂 I will be trying them with a variety of nuts = pecans, peanuts, almonds. Yum!
Oh my, those look delicious. My father would be happier with a bag of these than anything else I could come up with for the holidays.
I bet these would be amazing tossed into cookie dough. Or as garnish on top of a pumpkin pie. Mmm…
These look so delicious and tempting.. thanks for sharing 🙂
I love candied nuts. I bet your house smelled amazing while these were baking.
yes! i loooooove candied nuts!
wait..
but seriously, so good. i made a whole batch a few months ago and they last quite a while when properly stored. tastes great with a lil cayenne pepper too.
Just finished my first attempt at making these. The recipe didn’t say how much to beat the whites, so I whipped until semi-soft (no liquid in the bottom of the bowl), but not stiff. I’m curious, how much did you beat your egg whites? There wasn’t hardly any egg white left in the bowl, even using a slotted spoon, when I removed them to the sugar-cinnamon bag. I don’t know if my pecans are jumbo sized or what, but I really should have used two sheet pans instead of one to get them into a single layer, as I had to bake mine for 90 minutes to get them to dry out. They’re yummy though!
Hi Deb, I just beat them until frothy with a hand whisk, only about 30 seconds. It was definitely still liquid-y.
Thanks Michelle! You’re the BEST!
Meant to add, I used half sheet pans, not 1/4 sheet pans for anyone else who may be going to make them. Hope my experience helps!
Made these today, and they were fantastic. I made a half batch and they came out perfect with the recipe just as written. Even my pickiest critic (DS) liked them… this is the third recipe for candied nuts I’ve tried in the very recent past, and it’s the keeper since it’s the only one he’ll eat!
This recipe sounds wonderful. I’m going to make these for sure! http://mymountainkitchen.com
It’s such a bummer when recipes don’t turn out like you hope but you made a great comeback with these! I would not be able to stop eating them!
I just made this the other day with Walnuts – thank you for the recipe – they were wonderful and well…didn’t last long around here! 🙂
I made these this week, and have to say, they’re PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!
I made half a batch exactly as written, and half substituting dark brown sugar for the white and adding several shakes of cayenne. Both were incredible, but my crowd liked the ones with the changes the best. The cayenne added a subtle, yet pervasive warmth that’s dangerously addictive, and the brown sugar seems to deepen the flavor of the pecans. I thought that perhaps they would be too sweet, but because of the added salt, they come out darned near perfect. I’ve found that the most inexpensive price for pecan halves (if you can actually call $6.68 a pound “inexpensive”) is at WalMart, Fisher Nuts brand. I grab a couple as a snack a few times a day. Thank you, Michelle, for a boffo, easy recipe!!
We bought a 2 lb bag of Pecans already shelled at SAMS. I found your website quite by accident while looking up an easy way to cook Cinnamon Pecans. YOURS was the easiest and so, so very yummy. It’s a shame they only lasted two days, cuz we couldn’t stop eating them! Thank you, thank you!
Hi,
I’m dyslexic due to epilepsy and head injuries, and this following line is confusing:
…Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside
does that mean rim has to be large on pan because it will run out into over and burn? Or do you mean: larger size baking sheet with rim? I know it seems dumb, but when your head resembles a topographic map from stitches and staples nothing is too stupid, thanks and blessed Holidays.
It’s not a dumb question! The pan should be large (a half sheet works best – if your pan is smaller, you may need to split the batch between two pans) with a rim. I hope that helps! Have a wonderful holiday!
HELP! I doubled this recipe last night to be able to distribute some as thanksgiving goodies and they came out too sticky! (They taste absolutely delicious but the bottoms are very sticky) I even let them cool overnight and still they are sticky. Any suggestions? Thank you !
Hi Katie, It sounds like they didn’t dry out enough in the oven. You could try putting them back in at a low temperature for awhile and seeing if they dry out the rest of the way.
2nd time making this recipe as my family loves them, thank for a delicious easy nut recipe!
Made these for Thanksgiving for the appetizer table and they disappeared instantly! Yes, will be making them again, for Christmas. Watch out -they are addicting! You can’t eat just one. So easy!
Thanks for another great recipe
These are outstanding !!! Really I’m not kidding!
These were awesome! I’m a big fan of salty/sweet snacks, so I used double your amount of flaky sea salt. I put them in a salad with julienned Fuji apple, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and spring mix.
I’ll be making these delicious bites today! Thank you.
I made 3 lbs of this recipe today for the first time. They are amazingly great! To make them look like Christmas I sprinkled red and green sugar crystals. They stirred up very well. I didn’t have parchment paper, but heavy tinfoil worked just fine. Also my oven must be a little fast because the pecans were dried out in about 45 minute after 3 stirrings. So the recipe worked even faster for me. Delicious!
I just made these and put them in jars to give out as home-made Christmas gifts. They. Are. So. Good. Seriously people, try these now!
Hi Michelle, these look amazing and I bought too many pecans for my Thanksgiving baking, so I want to attempt. I currently just have raw sugar in the house. What do you think about substituting raw sugar for granulated?
Hi Renee, I have not tried using raw sugar, so I’m not sure how it would work, but if you find that it’s easily interchangeable in other recipes, it might be worth trying.
Thanks so much, Michelle! I’ll give it a whirl and let you know!
I made these, and they were a big hit! I gave my copy of this recipe to someone at my party, because she liked them so much. Great recipe. 🙂
Just made these for a new years gathering. I am happy with the ease of the recipe. Will be using this for gifts next year.
I chopped these up and put them in my oatmeal. Oh, so good!
Has anyone tried this with macadamia nuts? I had the best cinnamon macadamia nuts in Hawaii and haven’t been able to find any since, even on-line! I’m thinking of giving this a try.
I have made these many times and have never had a bad batch. I have pecan trees so I dont have any problem keeping pecans on hand. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is awesome.
I made a recipe very similar to this during the holidays but added some ground hot pepper power to the mix. It took the edge off the sweet and added some HEAT. I also mixed pecans and walnuts. SWEET with HEAT was a hit
Looks lovely. Great photography too. Now if you had used some Ceylon Cinnamon it would have been even better. 🙂 I wonder whether you could dry roast these on a pan. My nut baking goes horrible wrong most of the time.
Wondering if anyone has substituted Splenda instead of granulated sugar???
I made these again for a teacher breakfast event, and they were a huge hit. I got lots of compliments on them, and all the nuts were eaten. Such a great recipe! Easy too. I love to chop them up and put them in my oatmeal too.
How long can these be stored for and how do you store them? Is a baggie ok?
A baggie is okay, any airtight container or jar would be fine. You can store them up to a few weeks.
Wow! Everyone loves these pecans! I made them for a church function and they were a hit. Everyone was talking about them and coming to find me (because I made them). This is such a great recipe. It can be halved or double easily, and it’s so easy to make. Thanks again for this recipe!
wow nice recipe ..i’m tried this it’s very tasty ..i’m used Ceylon cinnamon and extra some honey ..it’s my own idea ..you can try it ..thanks!
I am interested in making these to bring in to work. Would have any suggestions for serving? I would rather not have everyone sticking their fingers into a jar. I think packaging some individually would work best.
Hi Cheryl, If you don’t want to serve in a big bowl, then I would package in individual treat bags.
Hi Michelle,
After reading this post last week, I have made several batches of these little buggers. Their super yummy and I wanted to share that one one batch I modded the recipe with 3/4 cup white sugar to 1/4 brown and they were even better! (much to my surprise) I feel like the brown sugar deepened the flavor and I invite you to try it out if you ever feel like it!
Best recipe for candied nuts I’ve ever seen or used. Directions were spot on! Thanks for sharing this with the world! Oh, and there is no way you can resist trying a hot one right off the pan, I mean seriously!
Made last night and they are so delish. Going to use as gifts. Of course, they are hard to stay out of. TY for this perfect recipe. Didn’t change a thing.
When you say “stir every 15 minutes”. Does that mean move them around on the cookie sheet or flip them over? Sorry, I’m not a cook. Just want to try this out. Thanks
Yes, just move them around on the baking sheet. Enjoy!
I would like to make these as favors for my daughter’s first birthday party, but have a couple of questions…
Could I bag these in plastic see-through bags? Or would you recommend I rather put them in jars?
How far in advance could I make and package these?
Thanks!
Hi Rita, You could definitely put these in bags! You can make them up to a week in advance.
Hi Michelle,
Can you use any kind of nut with this recipe? I love pecans, but my sister in law loves almonds, and I want to make then for her for Christmas.
Thanks,
Jessi
Hi Jessi, Yes, you could different types of nuts, almonds would be fantastic!