Candied Almonds

Bring on the holiday nostalgia with these homemade candied almonds! With notes of cinnamon and vanilla, these sweet, crunchy almonds will fill your home with the aroma of sugar and spices and remind you of Christmas shopping trips at the mall.

If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, you know that the mall was the place to hang out. Even before we could drive, our parents were dropping us off at the mall for several hours each weekend.

The Christmas season was always the best: the decorations, watching the families wait in line for photos with Santa, and the heavenly aroma of candied nuts wafting through the air.

There was usually an assortment of nuts to choose from, with candied pecans being the most popular and almonds coming in second. And they were always packaged in those cute little cones!

The smell of freshly roasted candied nuts never fails to unlock some core adolescent memories for me. 

My dad loves any type of nut. Cashews, pecans, macadamias, he’ll pretty much nosh on anything you put in front of him, but almonds are probably his favorite. 

So as you can imagine, these sugary, cinnamon almonds are his version of snack-time bliss.

Luckily, whether you still have a mall in your area or not, you can easily get your hands on those classic candied almonds by whipping them up at home. The process is really simple and as a little bonus, the sweet blend of vanilla and almonds will fill your house with an amazing scent. 

Trust me, after one whiff of the cinnamon-and-vanilla goodness, your family will be hanging out in the kitchen just waiting for these babies to cool down enough to start eating them.

How to make candied almonds

Even though you might be used to snacking on these candied almonds while you do your holiday shopping, they’re super easy to make at home. They’re great to set out at parties or to package up as a hostess gift.

They’re also delicious on top of a salad, such as my strawberry salad with spinach and arugula! 

Ingredients you’ll need

This recipe doesn’t require a lot of ingredients – you probably have a lot of them on hand already. You’ll need:

• 1 large egg white
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pound whole almonds
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

When buying the almonds, they don’t need to be labeled as “raw” almonds or anything like that. Just make sure they are not salted.

Since you’re only using the white of the egg, you’ll have an extra egg yolk on your hands. You can discard it, but I recommend using it in a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars instead.

We’re going to use a whole teaspoon of fine sea salt in this recipe. It’s enough to keep the nuts from being overly sweet without tasting salty.

If you prefer your almonds on the sweeter side, feel free to reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon or even 1/4 teaspoon.

If you need to make a vegan version, try swapping out the pecans for almonds in this maple roasted pecans recipe.

Making this recipe

These candied almonds are going to roast low and slow, so set your oven to 250°F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the egg white, vanilla, and water. Whisk vigorously or use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until it is frothy. Stir in the almonds.

Whisk together the sugar with the cinnamon and salt. Add this to the almonds and stir so all of the nuts are evenly coated in the spices and sugar.

Spread the almonds in an even layer onto the prepared baking pan. Don’t worry if they seem kind of wet – that will take care of itself in the oven.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring the almonds every 15 minutes. 

After an hour, let the candied almonds cool completely before enjoying. 

Storage and gifting tips

Once the candied almonds have cooled completely, they can be packed in an airtight container and kept at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

Their long shelf life means you can easily make them ahead of your holiday parties or family gatherings. Of course, that means you can’t eat them all before your guests arrive!

They also are really great for gifting. Pop them into a pretty jar with a ribbon and you’ve got a delicious hostess gift for any parties you’re going to this holiday season.

You could even tuck a jar of these almonds into a basket alongside homemade peppermint marshmallows, marshmallow creme fudge, saltine toffee, and rum balls for a homemade-candy-themed gift.

Candied almond recipe variations 

Obviously you can swap out the nuts in this candied almond recipe for your own favorite: pecans, cashews, walnuts, etc.

But there are some other ways to change up this recipe, too!

​If you prefer your candied nuts to be sweeter, try reducing the amount of salt to 1/2 teaspoon or even 1/4 teaspoon.

You can also change up the flavor profile by using spice blends in place of the cinnamon. Try using pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or chai spice blend to bring more warm spices into the recipe.

Swapping the granulated sugar for brown sugar is another way to create a slightly different flavor profile.

No matter how you make them, these candied almonds are sure to be a yearly favorite.