Baked walnuts!

I spent 58 minutes beating eggs today. No, seriously. I timed myself.

My grandma has this amazing recipe for baked walnuts that I’ve been making since junior high. The thing is, I can never ever remember the recipe. I would call my grandma to ask for the recipe every time, and I would write it down every time, and I would lose the piece of paper every time. When I wanted to make them tonight, I called my grandma again, but she’s getting on in the years and couldn’t remember the reecipe anymore. She hadn’t made them in a good long while herself, and she’d lost the slip of paper she’d written the recipe down on while moving last year. (Now I know where I get it from…hah.)

So I experimented. I made three batches of walnuts with different amounts of sugar and baked them at three different temperatures. (The recipe is so simple that sugar concentration and oven temperature are the only two real variables.) I’m happy to report that my third batch came out poifect. And now, for your baking pleasure but mostly so that I don’t lose the recipe again, here is the recipe:

Grandma’s Om Nom Nommy Baked Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shelled whole walnuts
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 large egg white
• Ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you’re using the left oven in the Next House Country Kitchen, preheat to 400. Beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. If you don’t have an electric egg beater, this will take a long time. Mix beaten egg white, sugar, and walnuts in a large bowl until walnuts are covered in sugary, eggy goodness. Don’t be a wuss; use your hands. Spread the walnuts onto an aluminum foil-covered baking sheet, making sure that they lay only one-walnut thick. Bake until the sugary egg part is golden-brown, about 12-15 minutes. If you’re using the left oven in the Next House Country Kitchen, this will take about 22 minutes. Just crack open the oven every once in awhile and take a peek. Sprinkle cinnamon on top to taste.

I told you it was simple. The only painful part was beating the egg whites which, as stated in the recipe, takes a REALLY FREAKING LONG TIME if you don’t have an electric beater. 58 minutes for three eggs with the adorable (though sadly hand-powered) egg beater Jackie gave me for Christmas, to be exact. At least my right arm got a pretty good workout. If you’re going to make these, I suggest buying one of those big honking bags of walnuts from Costco when you’re making these, because they taste heavenly and therefore go FAST.

Sadly, no pictures of my baking escapade because my camera is broken. You will have to take my word for it that they look delectable. Unless you come visit me. Now. :D