Melis Campbell
Walnuts provide valuable fats and minerals. Caramelized nuts are not healthier, but they taste incredibly delicious. With our recipe, caramelizing also works for beginners.
Walnuts are small calorie bombs due to their high fat content, but they are still a healthy snack that can be on the menu every day in small quantities. If you want some variety or are looking for a special decoration for desserts: caramelized walnuts taste sweet and nutty at the same time. And best of all, caramelizing the nuts is quick and easy.
Good to know in advance: It’s worth taking a closer look when buying walnuts, because our walnut test revealed that some products were contaminated with mineral oil. Other walnuts stood out because of their bad taste.
Caramelize walnuts: ingredients and instructions
The ingredients:
150 g walnut halves
100 grams of sugar
100ml of water
Step-by-step instructions for caramelized walnuts:
Put the water in a saucepan with the sugar and let it boil until the sugar turns light brown. Be careful, however, that the caramel does not turn too brown.
Add the walnuts and reduce the heat. Stir the nut halves constantly but gently. Stir until the walnuts are thoroughly coated in caramel.
Remove the caramelized walnuts from the pot and spread them out one at a time on a parchment paper or baking mat to cool.
Caramelize walnuts in the microwave
If you want to go faster, you can also caramelize walnuts in the microwave. You need:
- 100 g walnut halves
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions:
Mix the sugar and water in a bowl and stir until well combined.
Place the walnuts on a microwave-safe plate and pour the sugar water over them. Make sure all the nut halves have sugar water stuck to them.
Put the plate in the microwave and set a baking time of two minutes at 700 watts. After two minutes, stir the walnuts. Repeat three times so that the walnuts caramelize for a total of six minutes.
Take the walnuts out of the micro and let them cool down individually, spread out on a piece of baking paper.
Caramelized walnuts: tips for buying and preparing
Buy whole nuts and carefully crack them yourself so that the halves remain whole. This saves packaging waste and reduces the risk of mold, because whole walnuts are less susceptible to mold than chopped nuts. Also read: Federal Agency warns: Nuts can contain mold toxins
For a special flavor you can replace some regular sugar with vanilla sugar.
The caramelized nuts get a wintry aroma with a little cinnamon and/or a few dashes of orange juice.
Store leftover walnuts in a dry, cool and preferably dark place. Then they can be kept for up to a year.
