Have you ever made your own candied nuts?  It’s SO easy and they are SO much yummier than anything you can buy in the store.  Lots of people just use butter and sugar in a frying pan on the stove top, but I promise you these will be worth the extra effort and the little bit of a longer wait!  The egg white helps to create a sweet meringue type shell around the nuts that just melts in your mouth. 

You can enjoy these sweet nuts over salads, (spinach and mixed berries with raspberry vinaigrette is our favorite thing to eat these on), as an ice cream topping/mix-in, or just as a yummy snack all by themselves!  (They are a great thing to crunch on while watching a movie.)  Once you make these you will definitely want them on hand all the time.

Note:  You can omit the cayenne if you want but two pinches is barely noticeable.  If you want them spicier, increase your cayenne!  Same thing with the cinnamon.  If you like cinnamon and want more cinnamon flavor, use up to a tsp, but if you just want a hint, just use the 1/2 tsp!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pecans or walnuts
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  (If you use a mat, spray it with a little cooking spray for easy clean up.) 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together your egg white, water and vanilla until foamy.  (About 30 seconds.)  
3. Add the nuts and toss until they are all evenly coated with the egg white mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together your two sugars, cinnamon, salt and cayenne.  
5. Pour the sugar mixture over the nuts and stir until well combined. 
6. Spread your nuts evenly on our prepared baking sheet.  
7. Throw in to your preheated oven for 20 minutes.  
8. Pull out the baking sheet and use a nylon turner to flip and stir all the nuts, making sure to get them back in to an even layer, then return the pan to the oven for another 20 minutes, (for a TOTAL of 40 minutes.)
9. That’s it!  Let them sit at least ten minutes once out of the oven before using.  Any leftovers can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a couple of weeks.