Caramelized Walnuts

Ooey, gooey, crunchy, and sweet. These walnuts are a delicious treat on their own or a fancy topping for any other dessert: cakes, ice cream, cookies, cupcakes.

I was inspired by a recipe from Turkmenistan for walnut brittle, but I chickened out on the caramelization of the sugar, stopping it at an earlier temperature so it wouldn’t burn.

The happy result is a lovely, creamy toffee sauce coating each bite of roasted walnut crunch.


Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions

Spread the walnuts out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 350F for 10 minutes.

In a small pot, mix together the coconut sugar, water, vegan butter and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low. Bubble and stir gently for about 8 minutes until it’s a deep brown caramel color (225F on a thermometer, or you can try going up to 300F to make walnut brittle)

Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda.

Stir the walnuts into the caramel, then spread the whole mixture out thinly on the same parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cool completely, then enjoy your treats, or blend into a praline paste to use for patisserie, or store in an airtight container in the fridge.


Inspiration

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.

Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow.

Let reality be reality.

Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

– Lao Tzu

Chef Maitri Carmichael brings a creative and peaceful energy to every plate. She grew up in Toronto with a British Grandma and an Italian Nonna who showed their love through food, then she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years, spending her free time at community farms and zen kitchens. Originally a scientist and biotech entrepreneur, she graduated from the Vegan Chef School in London (2021) and the Raw Food Culinary Academy in Vancouver (2023), and is now settled in Hawaii.

One response to “Caramelized Walnuts”

  1. maitricookswithlove Avatar

    So tasty! 🙂

Leave a Reply

%d