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Sweet and crunchy slow cooker cinnamon sugar candied almonds are just like you get from the mall or a festival but made right in your slow cooker!
Crockpot Candied Almonds
Over the weekend I was browsing through Pinterest and saw this recipe for slow cooker cinnamon sugar candied almonds in my feed. I had other things to do but I knew I wanted to try it out immediately.
Once in a blue moon, I like to get the warm sugared almonds from the mall or in the little paper cone at a festival so how cool would it be to make them at home?
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Sugar Candied Almonds
While you’re making these almonds, you may have your doubts that they’re going to turn out right. For awhile, it will just seem like you’re stirring around some almonds in a pot of sand.
But, like magic, in that last hour, after you pour the water in, they come together and you get perfectly candied almonds.
Though the process is a little time consuming, you’re not actually doing much, you just need to stir them every 20 minutes. I prepped them then made baby food and dinner while they were cooking. Your house will smell amazing.
I got the almonds from Sam’s Club and they were just under $13 for 40 oz/2 lbs. You can also get them on Amazon for a few dollars more, but it’s convenient if you don’t have a Sam’s membership.
If you bag these up for gifts, you could give 9 people a half a cup with that $13 worth of almonds. I think it’s a cute gift – especially if you wrap them up in holiday packaging.
Candied Almonds Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Almonds – Of course. You’ll want to use raw almonds, not roasted. Like I said, I got mine at Target and they were slightly cheaper at Sam’s Club. If you have time, Amazon is convenient and comparable.
- Sugars – You’ll use a combo of both granulated white sugar and light brown sugar.
- Cinnamon – I say this all the time but get a good quality cinnamon, especially when its a key ingredient.
- Salt – To balance the sweetness.
- Egg White – The egg white acts as a glue to hold the sugars to the almonds.
- Vanilla – Again, I know vanilla is expensive, but you a good, quality pure vanilla extract and not imitation. I get mine in bulk at Sam’s Club.
- Water – Adding water is one of the final steps and it helps create the crunchy coating.
How do I make these vegan?
If you want to make these almonds vegan, you can swap out the egg whites for chick pea juice (aquafaba). 3 Tablespoons of aquafaba replaces one egg white.
I first published these sugared almonds in 2014 and they’re always popular around the holidays.
I’ve made them successfully many times but I wasn’t sure why some of you were having issues, so I wanted to test. I went back in, tweaked some of the measurements, and I’ve made another version that works really well.
I’m sure there are variations in slow cookers (including age), which I can’t really guess or accommodate for.
I will put the modified recipe below the recipe card (below) if you want to give that one a shot. The recipe in the card is the original. Both work really well for me!
Equipment you’ll need
- Slow Cooker – Whether you have a Crock Pot brand or different slow cooker, you’ll need one for this recipe. I’ve had this Hamilton Beach version for years and love it.
- Holiday treat bags – These almonds make really cute (& delicious gifts) when you portion them out into pretty little bags!
- Whisk – You’ll need to whisk up the egg white with the vanilla until it’s frothy.
- Large Mixing Bowl – I talk about these mixing bowls all the time because they’re my favorite. They make a great gift.
- Baking Sheet – Once the almonds are done in the slow cooker, you’ll need to spread them out onto a baking sheet to separate and cool. I like baking sheets with lips so nothing slides off the edges, especially when you’re dealing with almonds.
Need more cinnamon treats in your life? Try these:
- Chocolate Stuffed Cinnamon & Sugar Pull Apart Bread
- Cinnamon Quick Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls
- Candied Pecans
- Candied Cashews
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Sugar Candied Almonds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups granulated white sugar
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4.5 cups raw almonds
- 3 Tablespoons water as needed
Instructions
- Spray your slow cooker with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together.
- In another large bowl, add the egg white and vanilla and whisk until frothy.
- Pour the almonds in the egg mixture and toss them around to coat thoroughly.
- Pour the coated almonds into the sugar mixture and toss to coat.
- Pour the entire mixture into the slow cooker and turn to LOW.
- Cook for 3-3.5 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. It will look like not much is happening for a long time but your house will smell good!
- After 3 hours, pour in 2 Tablespoons of water and stir well. If they look dry, add another 1 Tablespoon of water. This is going to make the crunchy coating and things will start looking right.
- Replace cover & cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- When done, pour the almonds onto the prepared baking sheet and separate any that stuck together. Let them cool slightly to harden then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Originally published November 18, 2014
Here are the modified measurements, in case you were part of the 20% that had problems & want to give this a try:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4.5 cups raw almonds
- 2-3 Tb water
Can you do this with pecans too? maybe a shorter cooking time?
Hi Margot!
I haven’t tried it, but i think it’d work just as well with pecans. I’d stick with the 3 hours, but keep an eye on them. Let me know how they turn out!
I just might do it, I like the idea of this slow roasting and your instructions make sense! (an expensive experiment, I’ll get back to you if I dare attempt it)
It has been a couple of years, but I just thought I would add that tonight I did this with pecans. I used 5 cups of pecan halves and followed directions for almonds. Turned out perfect!
Thanks for letting me know!
What a great way to make these!!!
Hugs
These are some of my favorite treats during the holidays. I’d love to try and make them this year!
Wow, Melissa these look amazing! Please link this up at our link party, The Wednesday Roundup!
Thank you for linking up with the Be.You.tiful link party! These cinnamon covered almonds look so yummy and I can’t wait to make them so my house will be filled with the smell. 🙂
Your post is featured here this week: http://www.thehappygal.com/tiful-link-party-49/
They def make the house smell great. Thank you for the feature! =)
Hi, just YUM’d this from Yummly Savers FB. I followed/liked where I wasn’t. At least FB is good for something. Nice to meet you.
haha yes, FB is good for groups, at least. Thanks for the YUM 😉
Do you think this recipe would work well with cashews also? I can’t seem to find a recipe for cashews specifically, but I don’t think anything would be wrong with using this recipe with cashews.
Yep, I think it would work with cashews & I think iit’llbe delicious! Let me know how it works 🙂
Hi! Looks like a yummy recipe. I’ve seen through the comments that it would work well with cashews and pecans so far… what about walnuts? Does it matter what type of nut, or would you have to do anything differently? Thanks you! 🙂
Hi Jen,
I haven’t tried the other nuts yet (I had pecans in my cart at Sam’s last night then put them back! haha) but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’d love to mix all three. Report back if you try it!
Do you leave the lid on the last 20-30 min?
Yep, lid stays on 🙂
Thank you it was stated to leave the on
Not
I just made these. Not quite sure at what point after adding water until done. I cooked for about 30 more min, and still goopy, but still dumped them out to dry/harden. Is the texture supposed to be sugary? Or candy shiny
type coating after dumping out? Either way, still good. .. mine were sugary coated.
Hey Karen, yes, they’ll be more sugary but harden up. I found some ended up candy shiny, some stayed sugary.
Just an fyi… use a name brand, or good cinnamon. Mine was cheap, and to me tasted like cinnamon dust.
YES! I use this Flavor of the Earth ceylon cinnamon (affiliate). Typical grocery store cinnamon is full of cassia and not great.
I’m thinking of making these for christmas gifts to co-workers, neighbors…about how long do you think they keep?
Hi Robin,
I think they make a great gift! The sooner the better, of course, but I think I worked on eating my last batch for about a week. As long as you keep them in an airtight container you should be good for at least a week, I think. =)
Do you think dark brown sugar would work?
Yep, I think it’ll be fine. =)
Quick question. Your post says you bought the 32oz canister from Target. Is your recipe based on that 32oz canister. I ask, because the canister from Sam’s club is 48oz and I am trying to figure out what adjustments I need to make.
Hi Shelley,
You use 4.5 cups of almonds, which if I remember correctly, is not quite the whole 32 oz canister. I think I remember some being left over. =)
One more question 🙂 Have you ever made more than one batch at a time? I would like to put these in people’s stockings. We have 12 stocks. So I need to do a double batch. Wondering if I could just double the recipe and cook for the same amount of time. Might you have any suggestions? TIA 🙂
I have not done a double batch but if your slow cooker is big enough, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Putting them in the stockings is a great idea – let me know how it works out!
Does the lid stay on for the entire cooking time? Just wondering because of all the condensation .
Hi Diane,
The lid does stay on. You’ll be opening it every 20 minutes or so to stir them so I didn’t find condensation to be a problem.
Do you think you can use a crock pot liner?
Unfortunately, I’ve never used a liner (in any recipe) so I’m really not sure. :/ I don’t remember clean up being an issue at all though.
I’m cooking this right now. Because of all of the stirring I think using a liner would be more trouble than it’s worth. I’m sure you could technically do it but if this turns sticky at any point you’d be stuck trying to get your nuts off the liner to stir them.
Good call – thanks!
If you spray the cock pot it is not bad to clean up. I put it in the sick with hot water for about an hour then into the dishwasher.
Did I do something wrong? I followed the instructions to the letter and it still ended up kind of “sandy.” They’re delicious though!
Even after the water & laying them out to harden?
Hello! I have made these for Christmas and New Years for the last two years and LOVE them! This year, I would like to gift them to my vegan brother and his family. Do you know if I can make these without or substitute something for the egg? Thanks for your help!
Hi Kyla!
I haven’t tried it but the egg is basically just acting as a binding agent in this recipe so after a quick Google search, I think this should work: (1 tablespoon of Cornstarch + 2 Tablespoons of Water = 1 egg). Otherwise there are vegan egg replacers you can buy, but this should save you a trip to the store. Let me know how it works! Merry Christmas =)