These Gingerbread Candied Nuts make a super fun vegan DIY Christmas Gift for loved ones or a tasty snack for cozy December nights. Super easy to make, so it’s the perfect recipe for beginners and families.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I love DIY Christmas gifts. The sky is the limit when it comes to creating handmade gifts for your loved ones. Also, a handmade gift is much more meaningful.
When someone asks for my opinion on what kind of DIY gifts they should give to their friends or family, I always recommend this recipe first. It’s ridiculously easy to make and looks super festive in a jar. (Plus everyone loves tasty snacks, right??)
Warning: it’s super addictive and will make your house smell amazing.
When I make this for my family, it usually doesn’t last one afternoon (that’s 2 cups of almond and pecans, yo!). It’s no joke.
Ingredients
- pecans and almonds
- raw cane sugar
- water
- gingerbread spice
- vanilla extract
How to Make
STEP 1:
Put the nuts, sugar and water in a medium, nonstick pot.
STEP 2:
On medium heat, start cooking the mixture (while stirring constantly) until the water evaporates and the sugar clumps together.
STEP 3:
Before the sugar clumps together, add the the gingerbread spice, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and stir until the coating on the nuts solidifies.
STEP 4:
Carefully place the coated nuts on a parchment paper and let them cool for about an hour.
STEP 5:
Place in a decorated jar for a fun DIY gift or enjoy with hot chocolate on a chilly evening!
Extra Tips
You can literally use any kind of spice and flavoring you want. Are you into orange-y flavors? Just use 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
Do you like plain cinnamon? Go ahead and add 1 tsp cinnamon. Pumpkin spice? Sure thing!
Get ready though, because your house will smell amazing and you will get in some serious XMAS mood.
Be very careful because the sugar can burn quickly, so keep stirring!
You will know the nuts are ready when the sugar is beautifully clumped together and have coated the almonds evenly.
If you hear tiny sizzling sounds and pops while the nuts are cooking in the pot, that’s perfectly normal! It’s just the peel of a nut trying to come off. 🙂
I hope you will have a tremendous amount of fun creating these delish treats and if you gift them I’m sure they will bring happiness to everyone.
More DIY vegan Christmas gifts:
Gingerbread Cookies
Christmas Granola
Apple Cinnamon Granola
More vegan gingerbread recipes:
Gingerbread Hot Cocoa
Related vegan recipe roundups:
Christmas desserts, DIY gift ideas, stocking stuffers
Gingerbread Candied Nuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups nuts
- ½ cup raw cane sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp gingerbread spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the nuts, sugar and water in a medium, nonstick pot.
- On medium heat, start cooking the mixture (while stirring constantly) until the water evaporates and the sugar clumps together.
- Before the sugar clumps together, add the the gingerbread spice, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and stir until the coating on the nuts solidifies.
- Carefully place the coated nuts on a parchment paper and let them cool for about an hour.
- Place in a decorated jar for a fun DIY gift or enjoy with hot chocolate on a chilly evening!
Hello
When you said gingerbread spice is that different to ground ginger? If so can I use that?
Hi Emma! Gingerbread spice is a mix of different spices! If you only use ground ginger it’s not going to taste very good! 🙂
These are so great! I used pumpkin pie spice (all I had!) and added a bit of ground ginger. They’re amazing – thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you liked them, Hayley! Pumpkin spice with ginger sounds amazing. 😛
Yum! Very addictive. I used German gingerbread spice (Lebkuchengewürz) which is slightly different than gingerbread spice in the US/UK but they are still so great! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dorothea! Merry Christmas! 🙂
How far in advance can I make them? How long do they keep?
Keep them in an airtight container and they should last to up to 2 weeks!
Loved it, grateful I can make these yummies for my son and his family. I used cinnamon and it was delicious. I have a feeling my temp may have been a little high. It was medium on my stove but the nuts are not shiny like yours. Please let me know what you think. I was thinking of using allspice next time, have you ever used it on these?
I think all spice is just as good! I’m not sure why they are not as shiny. 🙁 But if they were delicious, I wouldn’t worry about it. 🙂 You can try making it on a lower temperature next time and see what happens.
Really excellent (and easy!) recipe. My budget is slim this Christmas, so I’m making food gifts. This was perfect. Thank you.
I’m so glad to hear that Michelle! I agree that it makes a wonderful homemade gift. 🙂
Could I make these nuts using a sugar substitute such as Truvia? I’m looking for a recipe for a diabetic. These would be wonderful if I could use a sugar substitute. Thank you!
Hi Debbie!
I’m not sure Truvia would work, but if you try it, do let me know! Good luck!
Approximately how long does it take for the water to evaporate?
Sounds great! Do you use raw nuts to start?
Yes, I used raw nuts. 🙂
Thanks!