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These candied hazelnuts are sweet, crunchy, and a little bit spicy. The kind of snack that disappears fast.
This easy candied hazelnuts recipe starts with roasted Oregon hazelnuts coated in powdered sugar, cinnamon, and a touch of cayenne for a perfect mix of sweet and heat. Much like my candied pecans, they’re just as good sprinkled over salads and desserts as they are eaten straight from the pan.
Reasons You’ll Want to Make Them
If you’ve ever wondered how to make candied hazelnuts that actually taste better than store-bought, this recipe is it. The flavor hits that perfect balance of sweet, nutty, and slightly spicy.
They’re quick to make, use simple ingredients, and are versatile enough for everything from an elegant hazelnut dessert topping to a festive gift jar of spiced hazelnuts. I love keeping a batch around during the holidays to toss on salads or just grab by the handful.
What You’ll Need To Make Them
The complete recipe with ingredient quantities is listed in the recipe card below, but here is a quick summary.
- Start with fresh or roasted hazelnuts; Oregon-grown if you can find them.
- Powdered sugar creates the candy coating, while cinnamon and cayenne turn this into a flavorful spiced hazelnuts recipe.
- Kosher salt balances everything and makes the sweetness pop.
Together, these ingredients make an irresistible batch of seasoned roasted hazelnuts that smell as amazing as they taste.
How to Make Candied Hazelnuts
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Begin by roasting the hazelnuts until fragrant, then rubbing off as much skin as you can.
- Coat them with water and toss in a powdered sugar and spice mixture until fully covered.
- Spread the nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake again until the sugar caramelizes and turns crisp.
- Once cooled, you’ll have perfectly crunchy, sweet-spicy candied hazelnuts ready to snack on or sprinkle over desserts like my eggnog cupcakes.
Substitutions and Variations
This candied hazelnut recipe is flexible and easy to tweak.
• Skip the cayenne for a purely sweet version.
• Add a bit of nutmeg or cardamom for extra warmth.
• Try using almonds, pecans, or walnuts with the same coating.
• For a holiday twist, add a splash of vanilla extract before baking.
The Best Way to Eat Candied Hazelnuts
These nuts go far beyond snacking. They elevate everything they touch.
• Toss into a kale salad with goat cheese.
• Sprinkle over chocolate mousse or ice cream.
• Use as a crunchy layer on cakes or cupcakes.
• Package them in jars for a homemade holiday gift.
Leftovers and Storage
Let the candied hazelnuts cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh for up to two weeks at room temperature.
Avoid refrigerating or freezing. They can absorb moisture and turn sticky.
Learn From Me
I’ve made this candied hazelnuts recipe more times than I can count, and here’s what I’ve learned.
Roast the nuts first for deeper flavor, and don’t skip the second bake; it’s what gives them that shiny, caramelized finish.
A fine dusting of sugar before baking helps them candy evenly.
Just be warned: they’re dangerously addictive, so double the batch if you plan on sharing.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place 1 cup hazelnuts in an oven safe dish and roast for 20 minutes. Transfer to a towel and rub away as many skins as you can.
- In a bowl, cover the hazelnuts with water. Transfer to a sieve and shake out the water.
- In another bowl, combine the 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon Kosher salt.
- Add the hazelnuts and toss. Transfer to a sieve to shake off the excess coating.
- Arrange the hazelnuts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the sugar is lightly caramelized and the hazelnuts are golden.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do these keep frozen? On Thursday at Thanksgiving, the restaurant served a mousse chocolate cake: All I wanted to eat were the candied hazelnuts that formed a thin bottom layer of the cake. I’d like to prepare your candied hazelnuts now for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza etc. and freeze them if that would work? Bake some chocolate cookies and use as bottom layer? Last-minute purchase good quality store-bought chocolate-chocolate cupcakes and sprinkle on top? Or quick dessert idea: Atop chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream? The possibilities are endless! Thank you. 😄🎄🕎🥛☕️🍾🧉🍨🧁👩🏽🍳❤️🥰😄‼️
Hi Catherine, I actually don’t think they would freeze well. I would worry that they would get a layer of condensation as they thawed and get sticky. I think you could make them ahead of time and store them in an airtight container and they would probably last a couple weeks.
I bought a bag of dry roasted (unsalted) hazelnuts from Costco. Since they are already roasted, do I need to repeat the time in the oven? If so, how long? Thank you.
Nope, not if they’re already roasted.
Love, love love these! Can’t stop eating them!
Thank you for the recipe! I forgot it was supposed to be doing our tasting at work tomorrow, and our Italian Piedmontese hazelnuts are something I have stocked up in my pantry! I reduced the cayenne by half for those who are not really into a lot of heat, so I really hope this is a great tasting this afternoon!
Nuts.com is a great source for raw, already-skinned hazelnuts. I bought a bag to use to make caramelized nuts for munching and for chocolate bark, which is why I ended up at this page! I’ve used Nuts.com for many years for nuts, dried berries, toffee bits (Skor bits), malt ball centers, and other inclusions for chocolates, and the ingredients so far have always arrived very quickly and fresh.
Oops, more accurately, the skinned hazelnuts from Nuts.com are blanched, not raw (it would be hard to skin raw ones!).
I’m so sad some of you are having trouble finding hazelnuts. They are a major crop here in Oregon–in fact, there are over 800 farms producing these here, and Oregon is biggest hazelnut producer in the country! We need to get to marketing them better, apparently! This recipe for spicy hazelnuts is SO good–I use it to top my rice combo (brown, black, red, and wild) that is cooked in chicken broth, and it’s so popular with my family and friends. I use it also to top our favorite pear and goat cheese mixed green salad with vinaigrette. Or just munch on them by themselves! SO yummy.
My daughter brought back as a gift from the German Christmas markets, candied almonds, flavored with….wait for it….
Bailey’s Irish Creme!!! I have searched many recipes for candied nuts, and I am thinking their recipe was cooked down first to maintain the rich flavor, before they tossed then baked them. They are heavenly! Creme deCoco would be wonderful too on desserts, if you can keep them around for that and not eat them.
YUM! I gotta figure out where I can even buy hazelnuts because there are so many things I want to try with them! I gotta hit up Trader Joe’s one of these days…it’s right on my way to/from the gym!
Gasp. You’ve never been to Trader Joe’s, Ashley? It’s like my favorite place in the world. It will change your life! -Krissy