Thursday, December 19, 2013

Mom's Candied Nuts

WARNING: BEFORE YOU PROCEED IN MAKING THIS RECIPE, PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE NUTS ARE HIGLY ADDICTIVE AND THE ULTIMATE ENEMY OF SKINNY JEANS. YOU MAY ALSO EXPERIENCE WATERING OF THE MOUTH WHEN READING THIS POST. 

Hello! Long time no see! I apologize for the huge gap between this post and my last, I try hard to post every other day but with school, band, and Christmas prep I sometimes don't even have time to check my email!



But let me tell ya, this recipe is well worth the wait!

After you make these once, they will definitely become a Christmas baking tradition in your home forever! My mom makes these wonderful sweet-and-salty nuts almost every Christmas. She always gives them as gifts, if we don't eat them all of course! There has been only one Christmas that she didn't make them, and we missed them so much!  These aren't the usual cinnamon-sugar coated candied nuts you smell all over the mall(which I absolutely love). They are a mix of pecans and walnuts covered in a crunchy, toasted, meringue/marshmallow topping. The salty nuts and the oh-so-sweet, toasty coating are like a match made in heaven! Not only do they taste amazing(and are highly addictive), but the scent of them baking is DEVINE! Don't you know the tempting smell of the cinnamon-sugar nuts that floats throughout the mall during the holidays? These nuts smell just as good or, in my opinion, even better! If I could bottle it up into a perfume bottle and spray it everywhere I would! I can see the bottle now at Bath and Body Works: Mom's Candied Nuts Eau De Perfume. The wonderful smell of butter, sugar, and toasted nuts is the best! To make these even BETTER(I know, how could that be? They're already perfect!), they are soooooo easy to make!

You only need a few simple ingredients: Pecans, Walnuts, Butter, Sugar, Salt, and Egg Whites. First, toast your nuts on a pan lined with foil.



Next, put your egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer. You will add the sugar gradually, while beating the egg whites on high speed. The mixture should look like this by the time all the sugar is added and you beat it for awhile: 


You will know to stop beating when you turn your mixer off and the lines made from the whisk don't fade. However, it will not form stiff peaks like a true meringue. Once this step is complete, remove the foil from the pan with the nuts on it. By doing this, you won't leave behind any salt used on the nuts. Dump the nuts into the bowl with the "meringue" and gently fold in the nuts. 

(P.S. My mom surprised me with that super cute spatula from Michael's earlier last week. Thanks Mom! :D)

Put 1 stick of unsalted butter on the pan used for the nuts(without the foil) and place it inside the oven until it melts. Remove the pan from the oven and scoop the nuts onto the pan so it forms a heap. It is very important that you heap the nuts onto the pan because they will burn if the are spread out. Bake the nuts for 15 minutes. They will look like this: 

Look how pretty! It's like a toasted marshmallow cloud!

After they bake for 15 minutes, give them a stir and bake them for another 15 minutes. This time, the nuts may be spread out so they get a coating of butter. Take them out of the oven and remove the nuts from the pan with a slotted spoon onto a sheet of foil or parchment paper spread out on your counter or table to leave behind any extra melted butter. Some of the butter may be burned; that's OK! Let the nuts chillax for about one hour on the foil so they crisp up. Then... DIG IN! You won't be able to keep your hands off them! I dare you to try and hold yourself from eating all of them...



Enjoy! 

Love
Teresa 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup pecans (not salted) 
1 tsp salt
2 cups walnuts 
2 egg whites 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Yields: about 8 cups 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Toast The Nuts: Spread the nuts onto a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with the salt. Toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes, stirring them frequently so they don't burn. Remove them from the oven and set aside. 

Make The Coating: Add the egg whites into a bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the egg whites on high speed, very gradually adding in the granulated sugar. Beat the egg whites and sugar until the lines left from the beater(s) do not fade. 

Coat The Nuts: Remove the foil with the toasted nuts from the baking sheet and dump the nuts from the foil into the meringue mixture. Fold the nuts into the meringue mixture until they are all coated

Melt The Butter: Place the butter in the center of the same baking sheet used for toasting the nuts, this time not covered with foil. Put the tray into the oven and allow the butter to melt. Periodically check on the butter so it does not burn. Once the butter is melted, remove the tray from the oven. 

Bake the Nuts: 
Scoop the coated nuts onto the baking sheet with the melted butter. Make sure they are in a tall heap so they don't burn. Bake the nuts for 15 minutes. Stir the nuts around in the pan to coat them with butter. This time, they may be more spread out on the baking sheet. If the butter looks like it is burning, don't worry! Bake the nuts for an additional 15 minutes after stirring them in the pan and remove them from the oven. Spread a sheet of foil or parchment paper onto a countertop or table. Remove the baked nuts from the baking pan with a slotted spoon onto the foil or parchment paper. Let the nuts cool for about an hour until the become crisp. Store the cooled nuts in an airtight container. 

Recipe From: My Mom
*Please do not take this recipe or photos from my blog and use them as your own. If you do wish to post my recipe on your blog, please ask for permission by emailing me. Thank you. 

Before finishing this post, I would like to send out a special thank you to my Mom! Thanks so much for allowing me to post your beloved candied nut recipes on my blog! You are the best mom and blog supporter a girl could ever ask for! I love you! 








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