I was given a very generous gift this year of a extremely large burlap sack of unshelled walnuts. My Nanny used to always have a dish of unshelled nuts set out for the holidays and I remember at different times my Papa and step-daddy spending many afternoons sitting there with a nut cracker and big smiles on their faces. Unfortunately, those days are long past and my family was not having any of it! When I brought the bag in my family looked at me like I was holding a sack of strange alien food pods - what were those and what in the world was I going to do with all them?! So no help there! I had so many! I tried to gives some of them away to my quilting friends but because they were not shelled, the ladies turned their noses at them as well. Wow! I was determined to not look this gift horse in the mouth. I started shelling these gems and thankfully a dear friend of mine gave me her old family recipe for candied walnuts. I had never made sugared nuts before so I was intimidated by the recipe but it is so simple and almost fool proof. They are wonderful! Hubby could not keep his hands off of them! The stinker! I am happy to say that I made several large batches and am giving them away as gifts.
Candies Walnuts - Recipe can be doubled
2 cups of nuts
1 cup sugar
2 or 3 tsp. cinnamon (I used two but please add more if you like)
1/4 cup half and half
1 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Also have a small bowl or glass of cool water ready near by.
Put sugar and cinnamon in a sauce pan and stir to combine. Over medium heat, stir in the half & half and water. Stirring constantly, cook and bring to boil - until it reaches the soft boil stage (take a spoon and drizzle a few drops of the mixture into the cool water and the sauce should hold together. You can pick it up and roll into a ball). Remove from heat and quickly stir in the vanilla and then the nuts. With a wooden spoon, stir-stir-stir, until the mixture coats the nuts fully. Be careful not to break apart the nuts too much when stirring. I kinda folded them over and over in the sauce to coat them. Turn out the nuts onto the cookie sheet and using two forks quickly separate the nuts and let fully cool.
They are so yummy and can be stored in an air tight container but I bet they will not last that long!
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