Cinnamon Candied Almonds Recipe
Enjoy a taste of the holidays with this fresh and addicting cinnamon candied almonds recipe! These crunchy spiced nuts are a great way to inspire picky eaters to love this heart-healthy, high-protein food.
Try more healthy holiday treats like Coconut Snowballs and Christmas Bean Cookies.
On the lookout for a healthier holiday treat? Try a homemade version of food-cart-famous candied nuts!
This cinnamon almonds recipe is rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats, and it’s almost impossible to stop eating these nuts by the handful! They’re sweet, gently spiced, and extra crunchy (thanks to a secret ingredient and low-and-slow cooking.)
They’re also easy to make (just 15 minutes of prep time) and perfect during the holidays when those warm and cozy flavors taste so right. Make them for you friends and family. Make them as a gift for your kids’ teachers. Or just make them for yourself!
How Are Nuts Healthy for Kids?
Nuts are super nutritious for kids. And raw or dry-roasted nuts have the best nutrition. But it can be hard to entice little ones to dig into plain nuts at first. If your kids are hesitant to eat nuts, you can sweeten the deal –literally!– by serving these sweet cinnamon almonds as a snack or dessert. Check out some of the benefits of nuts:
- They are rich in healthy fats, including Omega 3, ALA, and monounsaturated fats.
- They have plenty of vitamin E.
- Nuts are highly satiating so kids feel full longer after eating them.
- They are rich in magnesium and zinc.
How to Make Sweet Cinnamon Almonds
Making these delicious candied nuts is simple. And there’s a special technique that gets them extra crunchy and delicious! The secret is tossing the nuts in whipped egg whites. Check out the steps below:
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Step 1: Whip egg white and vanilla until fluffy |
Step 2: Combine brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and white sugar |
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Step 3: Dump nuts in egg white mixture and coat all nuts. |
Step 4: Dump brown sugar mixture onto nuts and stir to coat. |
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Step 5: Dump nuts on a cookie sheet and spread into a single layer. |
Step 6: Bake at 225 Fahrenheit for 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. |
Tips for Storing (And Gifting!) Candied Almonds
Store cinnamon almonds in an airtight container at room temperature. Make sure they’re completely cooled before you put a lid on them! (They may need several hours at room temperature to cool all the way.) They’ll keep their fresh taste for about two weeks this way.
If you’d like the nuts to stay fresh for even longer, you can also refrigerate or even freeze them. They might get a tad less crispy over time, but you can keep them fresh for months in cold storage.
We like to fill some cute bags or jars with candied nuts to bring to friends and family! They’re always a welcome gift!
Cinnamon Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 cup almonds, whole
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Beat egg white and vanilla until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon and salt.
- Dump 1 pound of almonds into egg white mixture and stir to coat.
- Dump sugar mixture on almonds and stir to coat.
- Pour nuts onto a cookie sheet, in a single layer.
- Bake at 225 F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
Love this idea!!! I send pretty much exclusively homemade gifts: I made granola and infused olive oil. Your almonds look like a lot of fun to make and even more fun to eat!
Love, love, love your Cinnamon Almonds. It’s my go-to recipe for a homemade goodie for Christmas presents.
[…] and her family make Cinnamon Almonds every year for their neighbor gifts. Check out her blog at Super Healthy Kids for the […]
Mmmmm. I wish we were neighbors! 🙂
Could I substitute almonds with pumpkin or sunflower seeds? Would it require less time in the oven?
I’ve never tried it!! But we’ve used lots of different types of nuts. Let me know if you try seeds!
[…] almonds have so many more good nutrients for kids than bread crumbs. Plus, we’ve got some almonds leftover from Christmas. Almonds […]
How long would you say these keep for?
Trying to be as organised as possible for the holidays. Thanks!
These nuts last forever! You could get a good month out of them at least!
Thanks so much for your quick response. I’m off to make some nuts for christmas then 😉
We are making these now. Your recipe says 1 egg white but when you reference it, you say egg whites. Is it just one egg white?
It is just one if you have 1 lb of nuts. I almost always use the 3lb bag of nuts from Costco, so I use 3 egg whites.. I’ll fix it so it’s not confusing!!
THANKS!
Thank you! They are in the oven now.
There any way you can make these without all the sugar, my kids would get dizzy from all of it?
Sarah- You could try this alternative recipe without sugar https://www.superhealthykids.com/sugar-free-cinnamon-pecans/
What brown sugar is best? Light, dark or raw? Thanks
Looking forward to making them!
Charmaine, I’ve used them both and the results seem exactly the same to us.
Is that Fahrenheit ? Because I would have thought 225oC would be too hot for that amount of time. But I’ve never made anything like this before.
Yes, Fahrenheit Kareen! thanks for asking.
Have you ever tried dextrose as a substitute? I’m trying to be fructose free but I’ve been told dextrose sucks up a lot of moisture when cooking with it and I’m guessing you might have to use an extra egg white.
I have never used dextrose Jac.
Please specify that it’s Farenheit, not Centigrade! I nearly ruined mine cos the oven was way to hot – think I managed to salvage them though 🙂
Oh no! So sorry Helen! It’s been added!
So lovely!! That will be one of my snacks for this Christmas! I guess my kids will love it. Thanks for the idea and thanks for the Farenheit comment!! 🙂
Do you use parchment paper or foil or spray on the cookie sheet or just put them straight on there?
When you say you use the 3lb bag from Costco (which is what I got), do you make them all at once or 1lb at a time?
Katie- I make them all at once and separate them onto two cookie sheets. Then, I rotate them every time I take them out of the oven to stir- move one sheet to the top rack, and the other to the middle, etc.
Do you mean vanilla extract? I don’t see how that would be fluffy??
Yes, extract Sarah- The vanilla is just for flavor, the egg whites are what gets fluffy.
Raw egg white or cooked egg white?
Oh that was a silly question lol
I didn’t whip the egg enough at first 🙂
We love doing our nuts in the slow cooker, I’ll have to figure out how to adapt this recipe! I always forget to turn stuff in the oven…I’m more of a set it and forget it kind of girl 🙂 If you get to it before I do, let me know how it goes!
Are you starting with raw almonds? Toasted?
What kind do you start with?
Thx
Hi Florie, we start with raw almonds.
Does this really work?
Yep! 🙂
Great! Super tasty and festive for the Christmas season. I did not beat the egg whites enough so I had to cook the almonds for two hours.
Glad you loved them! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi! I’m curious if anyone has made this recipe and cut the sugar by half.
Thanks!
Any substitution suggestions to make these vegan?
Some people have had luck using chia seed/water mixture that has been allowed to gel as a replacement for the egg. We haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t say how well it works. Let us know if you try it and if it works well for you!