Candied Nuts
Updated November 19, 2025
Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
- Ready In
- 1 hr
- (40 min, plus cooling)
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm
1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne or more to taste
1 pound unsalted whole mixed nuts (any combination of pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, macadamias and cashews)
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar or other coarse sugar
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
12 grams carbs; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 220 calories; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 88 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 300 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and cayenne. Whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the nuts and use your hands to toss the nuts in the mixture until they are evenly coated.
- Step 3
Spread the nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until the nuts are toasted and fragrant, 30 to 40 minutes. The sugar mixture will bubble as it cooks, so take care not to touch it with your hands while you stir the nuts.
- Step 4
Set the pan on a wire rack and immediately sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top. Let the nuts cool completely before serving. (Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.)
Private Notes
Comments
Looking over the recipe I was surprised to see it calls for 1 Tablespoon Diamond Crystal Salt. Perhaps this should have been 1 teaspoon? The nutritional information shows 88mg of sodium for a serving of 1/16 (1 oz) of the recipe. If 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt = 1120 mg sodium then 1 Tablespoon (three teaspoons) = 3360 mg sodium. 1/16 of 1120 mg (1 tsp) = 70 mg sodium. 1/16 of 3360 mg (1 Tablespoon) = 210 mg sodium.
I love candied nuts, especially around the holidays when the days are dark and gloomy. This recipe is easy and versatile (I omitted the cayenne). I used salted nuts and salted butter and didn't add salt as called for and they turned out quite delicious. I also omitted the turbinado sugar and found them to be plenty sweet.
I just made these and they were a bit overdone at 40 minutes. I should have watched them more carefully.
I questioned the tablespoon of salt that the recipe called for, but as I have had good luck with NYT recipes, I went with it. NOT GOOD! I just toasted a pound of pecans and threw the whole batch into the waste can because of the amount of salt. With several people commenting of the sodium level, it would be nice to see changes to the recipe -- to avoid tossing out a pound of nuts!
I made this recipe and it is pretty good, but the amount of salt was way too much for my taste. A half TB (or less) of kosher salt would be enough for a pound of nuts in my opinion. The coarse crystals do not melt, they stay whole through the baking, so they are quite potent on the finished product.
I used walnuts for this recipe. I found 40. minutes is too long to bake the nuts; 25 to 30 would be sufficient. The addition of turbinado sugar at the end of baking is a good contrast to the spice.