Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Candied Walnuts



This past weekend I tried a recipe for candied walnuts.  I was making a salad recipe that called for toasted pecans.  I didn't have a lot of pecans on hand, and I also wanted to kick the flavor of the salad up just a little bit, so I went looking for a candied walnut recipe.  This one, which I found in one of my Quick Cooking annual cookbooks -- Candied Walnuts -- did not disappoint.

(Parenthetically, let me add that these annual cookbooks -- of which I own three -- were acquired free because I had recipes published in Simple & Delicious or Light & Tasty in the past.  This is a fun way to get some very nice cookbooks, so if you have never submitted recipes to any of these magazines -- including Taste of Home -- you might want to consider doing so.  Even if your recipes are not used right away, you will receive a free magazine and often a free hardcover book eventually if they are  published.)

Back to the Candied Walnuts.  I don't keep balsamic vinegar on hand, so I just used cider vinegar.  And my canola oil was at the back of the cabinet, so I used light olive oil which was near the front.  These ingredients worked out just fine.  The walnuts were super easy to make and they are just delicious!  It's so nice to be able to make something so fancy and different with so little effort.
(Photo by Taste of Home)
These were good in a salad and they would be nice as a snack or appetizer, but I'm posting the recipe link here in my Christmas kitchen because I think they would make a wonderful kitchen gift.  Don't you agree?

2 comments:

  1. My Dad always had walnuts at Christmas time and I remember fondly him using the nut cracker to crack them and then eating them....

    Hugs,
    Deb

    ReplyDelete
  2. My mother did the same thing at Christmas and Thanksgiving too. There were always bowls of walnuts in the shell around. One year we helped to shell them very carefully and she gilded the half-shells and glued them back together with gold cord in between to hang on the Christmas tree. Simple and so pretty!

    ReplyDelete

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