Candied Nuts (with Rose Water)

Candied nuts are on the menu here, and if you drop by our house (with enough of a heads up), you’re going to be greeted with a big hug from me, a chaotic hello from a Cocker Spaniel, and some iteration of the candied peanuts you see above. Since being back in San Francisco, I’ve been trying to up my impromptu snack game a bit - for when people drop by. These candied nuts have become one of the cornerstones. You can make them with whatever nuts you have on hand, they keep beautifully for over a week, and they’re an easy win as part of a larger snack-y spread. They also bridge the sweet-savory gap wonderfully and I've been serving them with a range of spreads, flatbread, and other bite-sized sweet treats.

The Inspiration

I've had a magazine clip in my files for the better part of twenty years, Gourmet circa mid-2000s (pretty sure), for Rose-Water Candied Peanuts. Maggie Ruggiero is mentioned in the headnotes citing them as "one of the best tasting snacks she'd ever had." They were a bit different than other versions of candied nuts I'd come across. The sugar coating ends up being somewhat uneven and craggy, and you get little pebbles and scrabble of sugar stuck to the nuts and throughout. Loved them. I was in, and started making riffs on her version over the years based on it. Almonds, pistachios, cashews, all fair game. Although, I still prefer to bake candied walnuts, and sometime pecans.

How To Make Candied Nuts

Some pictures to provide visual cues at various stages in the process.

• Heat the water with sugar:  Once the sugar has dissolved and started simmering a bit, you're going to add the peanuts and stir well. Medium heat seems to work best for me, the sugar mixture thickens and the peanuts begin to take on some color. Also, choose a nice, thick pan to use here.
  

  

• Toast the sugar and nuts: Keep cooking and stirring. You'll stir in the salt, and at some point the mixture will get dusty and dry in appearance. It's ok. It will loosen up again and the sugar will turn a beautiful caramel color, and by then the nuts should be well toasted. At this point, remove from the heat, and allow to cool for a minute or so. Stir in the rose water (or other accent, extract, water), rose petals, and/or additional spices at this point. 
  

  

• Cool completely: Allow the candied nuts to cool completely before transferring them to an airtight storage container.
  

  

Video: Candied Nuts

Variations:

• Candied Nuts with Orange Blossom Water: Swap in orange blossom water for the rose water. I also like to grate a bit of orange zest onto the tops of these just before serving. The zest is moist, so be sure to add it late in the game, so everything doesn’t get tacky and sticky. You can’t store the candied nuts post-zest, but it’s wonderful for any nuts you’ll be consuming pronto.
• Candied Nuts with Fioro di Sicilia: With notes of vanilla and orange, swap in fiori di Sicilia for the rose water in the recipe. It’s wonderfully fragrant, and brings a bit of je ne sais quoi to whatever you add it to.
• Candied Whole Almonds: If I’m making candied nuts with almonds I sometimes consider using 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in place of the rose water called for.

Candied Nuts: Other Ways to Use Them

These candied peanuts are incredibly delicious on their own, but they’re also the perfect wildcard ingredient in all sorts of things.

• In salads: Let’s say I use rose water in the candied nuts. Use a little splash in whatever salad dressing or vinaigrette and you have a wonderful, off beat salad. If I use orange blossom water, use that in the dressing, etc. This works really well with buttermilk based dressings.
• In cookies: You just know a version of peanut butter cookies spiked with these candied nuts is good.
• In granola or trail mix: as an accent ingredient or punctuation.
• In chocolate: Specifically in these chocolate energy bites.

More Nut Recipes

• Candied Walnuts
• Turmeric Cashews
• Homemade Nut Butter

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