I love posting simple, sweet recipes on the blog and this one literally takes the cake. Boasting only four ingredients and three steps, this is a recipe you won’t mind whipping up each year.

This recipe has been around for years; it’s been tweaked, made savoury and shared for generations. The version I’m sharing with all of you is one that I’ve adapted and made into my own. I learned how to cook from my mom and grandmother, but baking is a whole different story. My mother-in-law and, of course, Martha Stewart brought baking into my life. I watched Martha Stewart’s show religiously when I was young and made my first basket weave pie crust when I was twelve. When I started dating my husband at the ripe-old age of 17, his family welcomed me with open arms. His mother, now my mother-in-law, taught me how to candy nuts, properly melt chocolate for baking and make enormous batches of Christmas cookies. In fact, we love her candied nuts recipe so much we made hundreds of them for our wedding.

The candied nuts recipe that I am sharing today is a slightly healthier version, as I’ve added some brown sugar, but it’s still the perfect way to share some sugar with the ones you love this season.

 CHRISTMAS CANDIED NUTS

INGREDIENTS

2 cups almonds

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix sugars together in a small bowl until they are well combined.
2. Pour almonds, sugar and water into a large, non-stick frying pan and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes on medium high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Mixture will bubble, then become powdery white and then it will glaze. Keep stirring until the nuts are covered in the glaze.
3. Turnout nuts onto a baking sheet or breadboard and separate. Let the nuts cool before packaging.

*Gift giving option: if you decide to give these nuts away as gifts, this recipe will fill approximately 12 (125 ml) mason jars. I also love adding gift tags and ribbon to give the jars a little sparkle and personalize the gifts a bit more.