Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix

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I love candied nuts. The kind you can get at the mall around the holidays and can smell a mile away.

And I love trail mix. All the textures, the salty-and-sweet aspect. I can never stop at a handful.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix - Candied nuts like you get at the mall with trail mix add-ins. This stuff is dangerously good!!

Marrying candied nuts with trail mix was one of the best, and most dangerous, kitchen decisions I’ve had lately. Can you say addiciting. Whoa. But it makes great gifts and people love it.

I used a combo of pecans, walnuts, and almonds. I love using pecans when making candied nuts because the cinnamon-and-sugar coating really seeps into all the nookies and crannies and adheres beautifully.

My 7-year old hand model promptly picked out most of chocolate chips. I’ve taught her well.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix - Candied nuts like you get at the mall with trail mix add-ins. This stuff is dangerously good!!

My family loves almonds and you can’t go wrong with buttery cashews. Use your favorite nuts.

I use unsalted, raw nuts because they bake at the same rate and the salt level is uniform, but if you have lightly salted, roasted peanuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or others, I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix - Candied nuts like you get at the mall with trail mix add-ins. This stuff is dangerously good!!

I usually have a half dozen different bags of nuts open (salted, unsalted, raw, roasted) and this is a great pantry cleanout recipe. I’m BFF’s with the Trader Joe’s nuts and dried fruit aisle.

After baking I added dried cranberries, dried cherries, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. If you’re not fond of certain dried fruits or don’t like white chocolate, omit them and use what you prefer.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix - Candied nuts like you get at the mall with trail mix add-ins. This stuff is dangerously good!!

The trail mix is salty and sweet, packed with rich cinnamon sugar flavor, and there’s so many textures from crunchy to chewy in every bite. The tartness of the dried fruit is offset by the sweet white chocolate. So good.

The heavenly scent while it bakes just helps contribute to how irresistible this stuff is. It’s going to be your new favorite fall snack. It would make great gifts if you can part with any.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix - Candied nuts like you get at the mall with trail mix add-ins. This stuff is dangerously good!!

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4.50 from 4 votes

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix

By Averie Sunshine
Marrying candied nuts with trail mix was one of the best, and most dangerous, kitchen decisions I’ve had – so addicting. I used a combo of raw, unsalted pecans, cashews, and almonds. I added dried cranberries, dried cherries, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips after baking. If you’re not fond of certain dried fruits or certain chocolate, use what you prefer. The mix is salty and sweet, packed with rich cinnamon sugar flavor, and there’s so many textures from crunchy to chewy in every bite. It’s irresistible and will be your new favorite fall snack.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
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Ingredients  

  • 3 cups nuts, I used 1 cup each of pecans, cashews, and almonds. All were raw and unsalted
  • 1 egg white from a large egg, whisked to frothy
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark is fine)
  • 2 + teaspoons cinnamon, I used 1 tablespoon
  • ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
  • 1 ½ cups dried fruit, I used 3/4 cup each dried cranberries and dried cherries
  • 1 ½ cups baking chips, I used 3/4 cup each semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Don’t skip lining your baking sheet; set aside.
  • To a large bowl, add the nuts; set aside. I recommend using raw, unsalted nuts but if you can’t find them, previously roasted/salted will likely work but monitor baking time and optional salt level.
  • In a small bowl, add the egg white, water, and whisk vigorously until very frothy, foamy, and bubbly, about 2 minutes by hand.
  • Pour egg mixture over the nuts and stir to coat.
  • Add the sugars, cinnamon, optional salt, and stir very well to coat evenly.
  • Turn nuts out onto to prepared baking sheet, spreading them in an even flat layer.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once midway through (I baked 28 minutes); don’t overbake or nuts can burn. Coating may appear bubbly, possibly a bit runny and loose in the center of tray even when nuts are ready to be pulled from oven, but firms up dramatically as nuts cool. Use your judgment and let your nose and eyes be your guide to doneness.
  • Allow nuts to cool on baking tray for at least 2 hours. Ideally, leave nuts on baking tray and exposed overnight as it helps them get extra crispy and crunchy.
  • When nuts are cooled completely, sprinkle the dried fruit and baking chips over nuts.
  • Use your hands to break apart large clusters and disperse fruit and baking chips throughout.
  • Transfer mix to airtight containers, jars, or baggies. Mix will keep airtight at room temperature for at least 1 month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 350kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 233mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 25g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. Mmmm, I don’t think I could stop at one handful!! ;) I probably wouldn’t stop munching until it was gone! Yum!

  2. I’m pretty sure I would be unable to stop eating this trail mix after the first bite. Looks so tasty!!

  3. Skylar’s hand modeling = so precious! And I could seriously munch on these all day, especially right now at midnight!

    1. She was a fairly cooperative subject :) Fairly. The rest of the time she was chattering and I was like ummm you’re moving and talking with your hands!

  4. Mmm, this definitely looks dangerous! I love both candied nuts and trail mix so putting them together sounds like the best snack ever!

  5. Oh my goodness. I would be in BIG trouble if I was left in a room with nuts prepared this way. I would eat so many I wouldn’t fit on the door to get out of that room. Wonderful treatment!!!!!

  6. I’m BFF’s with that Trader Joe’s aisle too! And I’m pretty sure I’d be BFF’s with this mix too!!

  7. I’ve always got half used bags of nuts lying around, I never thought to use them up in this way! trying it today so the hubby has got a healthy snack for work

    1. Sure, these are ‘healthy’…I’ll go with that :) At the very least, it will totally clean out your random stash of almost-used bags of nuts. I tend to have like 10 of those going at once! LMK if you do try these!