Candied almonds are a yummy and festive handmade gift in a mason jar! This easy candied almond recipe is the perfect treat, you’ll love the free printable gift tag it comes with!
This post is sponsored by Ball® Fresh Preserving.
Table of contents
Candied Almonds
This is such an easy gift idea that can be put together without much effort! Adding the almonds to a mason jar and giving as a gift makes it feel thoughtful.
Every year, I put together easy handmade gift ideas, and this year we are sharing this easy and yummy festive treat!
While we used candied almonds, you can put anything into these jars such as some of our homemade stovetop potpourri, homemade hot cocoa mix, lavender bath soak, rosemary salt, or any other handmade gift that can go in a mason jar!
Candied almonds are naturally gluten free and can be made with a variety of spices! This is a simple ratio to follow, but it can easily be adjusted:
⅓ cup sugar per 1 cup almonds
I also love adding spices to the mixture to create even more flavor! A very easy addition is ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice for every 1 cup of nuts! If you like a heavily spiced mixture, you can add even more!
How to prepare candied almonds – it’s super easy!
- Preheat oven to 275 F
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk 1 egg white until foamy. About 5 minutes – alternatively you can use a hand mixer to save time.
- Fold in the almonds, sugar, and spices. Stir to combine and coat the almonds.
- Pour the coated almonds evenly over a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste an almond to see if it is done to your liking, you may opt to bake longer if you’d like the almonds to be more crisp up to 1 hour.
Why do candied almonds need an egg white?
The egg white creates a bit of a meringue texture and crispness for the almonds. It creates a great texture for bulk candied almonds to be given as a gift! However, you can also candy these nuts on the stovetop with maple syrup or honey. I prefer the egg white method for the look and texture it provides.
My suggestion – if you’re making candied almonds for a salad, you can definitely skip the egg white and just sauté them with honey, maple syrup, or sugar on the stove until caramelized.
If you are making bulk candied almonds to give as a gift, use the oven & egg white method.
What’s the difference? The look and texture is very different between stovetop and oven baked. Stove top is great for a quick candied nut for a salad, but the stovetop produces prettier results for large batches to be given as gifts or stored for later.
Brown Sugar vs Granulated Sugar
You can use either brown sugar or white granulated sugar for this recipe. I prefer half and half! The added molasses in brown sugar provides great flavor!
More handmade gifts in jars
homemade candles with essential oils
Candied Almond Recipe
Makes about 5, 8 oz. mason jars.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups unblanched almonds
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- Pinch of coarse sea salt (optional)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 275 F
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk 1 egg white until foamy. About 5 minutes – alternatively you can use a hand mixer to save time.
- Fold in the almonds, sugar, and spices. Stir to combine and coat the almonds.
- Pour the coated almonds evenly over a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste an almond to see if it is done to your liking, you may opt to bake longer if you’d like the almonds to be more crisp up to 1 hour.
Free Printable mason jar gift labels
Supplies Needed:
- Ball Canning Mason Jars
- Printable Labels
- Sticker Paper
- Paper Trimmer
- Ribbon & other adornments
- Glue Dots
Method:
- Download the free printable file by clicking here.
- Print the file onto this sticker paper. 1 sheet of sticker paper makes 8 labels.
- Use a paper trimmer (my favorite crafting tool!) to cut the stickers.
- Fill the mason jars with the almonds (or any other gift!), and place the lid and band on finger tight.
- Adorn the jars with the sticker, ribbon, and any other festive item! I used a little pine cone and attached it using a glue dot!
The Recipe
Candied Almonds
Ingredients
- 3 cups unblanched almonds
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice optional
- Pinch of coarse sea salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 F
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk 1 egg white until foamy. About 5 minutes – alternatively you can use a hand mixer to save time.
- Fold in the almonds, sugar, and spices. Stir to combine and coat the almonds.
- Pour the coated almonds evenly over a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste an almond to see if it is done to your liking, you may opt to bake longer if you’d like the almonds to be more crisp up to 1 hour.
I am sooo excited to make these! Thank you for sharing!
Shelley, thank you so much!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to say hello! :) Have fun!
Great candied almond recipe. Thx
Very inspiring I loved your video saying you were inspired to do a simple act of kindness which is making a lovely domino effect since now I’m spreading the kindness by making this for my lovely friends thank you
I love this! Thank you!