Candied Pecans
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Easy to make candied pecans that require less than 10 ingredients! They’re perfect as a topping on salads or main dishes and desserts, like pumpkin pie. Did I mention that a handful is perfect for a snack? You can also give these as gifts in a cute jar for the holidays!
My house. It smells… AMAZING!
I am basking in the smell of these cinnamon sugary candied pecans. I baked these guys up almost a week ago and my oven still smells like them. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. My oven isn’t too pleasant to look at at the moment (shall we say it’s not my favorite task?), but boy does it smell delicious!
Before we jump into todays candied pecan recipe, I have to ask you a very important question!
Do you guys listen to the ‘Serial’ podcast? Holy moly. I just discovered it. Which if you’re thinking i’m so late to jump on the band wagon, you need to know i’m turtle slow when it comes to this stuff. It only took me like 5 seasons to realize that I should probably start watching LOST. The show has 6 seasons. Revenge and Scandal? I was just starting the first episode when the second season on both of those shows ended. Breaking Bad? I haven’t even gotten past the 4th episode. Serial is still on season 1. It only took me 11 episodes. Don’t I deserve a pat on the back?
I was immediately drawn to the series because i’m embarrassingly obsessed with crime/mystery anything. There probably isn’t a single episode of Law & Order SVU that I haven’t seen. A book from the Women’s Murder Club series by James Patterson can almost always be found on my nightstand. Oh and those Sherlock series on Netflix, I could watch those all.day.long. I’m totally hooked. I’ve listened to 3 podcasts in just one evening!
Moving along.
You guys, I have a confession to make. I’m completely obsessed with candles. Any scented candle, really. I particularly love the ones that come in food scents. Have you smelled the Bath and Body Works Frosted Cupcake candle? It’s the real deal. It makes me hungry as soon as I light the thing. And lately I’ve got a new favorite scent – these toasted sugary pecans. they make the whole house smell so delicious. If I had to describe it in one word I’d say they make your house smell like the ‘holidays’. Is that weird? Do you get where I’m coming from here?
Candied pecans are perfect to make during the holidays because they make wonderful gifts for loved ones and as an added bonus you get aromatherapy out of them for at least a week. These candied nuts make a lovely addition to salads (i’d suggest a pear, pomegranate, and candied pecan salad), they also are great to toss on a candied sweet potato casseroles for a little added crunch 😉 .
Let’s talk ingredients for these candied pecans. You need a total of 8 ingredients. And a lot of these are pantry staples.
- pecan halves
- 1 egg white
- granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- a pinch of nutmeg
- salt
It’s going to take less than 5 minutes to mix these ingredients up. I start by beating the egg white with my vanilla extract. I like to do this because it allows for the vanilla to mix in with all the ingredients evenly. Toss the pecans in with the egg white. Then you’re going to add the rest of the dry ingredients. I like to do this in a small bowl so the cinnamon and nutmeg mix in evenly with the sugar. Tossing them in separately may cause overpowering clumps of spices. Toss these babies onto a silicone mat or parchment lined baking sheet once you’ve combined everything together.
Now comes the aromatherapy. You’ve gotta bake these on low and slow. We’re talking 300 degrees F. You want the sugar to get all hard and crunchy but you absolutely do not want it to burn. The candied pecans will take approximately 40 minutes to get all nice and sugar coated. Pull these guys out of the oven and as hard as it’s going to be, don’t try to eat them right away! The sugar will harden more once the pecans are out of the oven and cooling.
Let’s do a quick 5 recap. You need these candied pecans in your life because:
1.) CANDIED PECANS
2.) better than any scented candle i’ve ever used
3.) these are crunchy and nutty and delicious (so that’s like 3 reasons right there)
4.) easy to make and perfect for gift giving
5.) ideal for tossing on salads, desserts, and casseroles. Even better to just snack on all by themselves!
Candied Pecans
Easy to make candied pecans that require less than 10 ingredients! They're perfect as a topping on salads or main dishes and desserts, like pumpkin pie. Did I mention that a handful is perfect for a snack? You can also give these as gifts in a cute jar for the holidays!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Combine the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and ground nutmeg in a bowl, set aside. In a small bowl whisk the vanilla extract with the egg white until just beaten, set aside.
- In another bowl, add the pecans and egg white, toss gently until combined and the pecans are evenly coated. Add the sugar mixture, toss until completely mixed.
- Spread pecan mixture out onto a single layer on parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, removing the nuts at the 20 minute mark and stirring. They are done when the sugar coating starts to turn white and the house smells like cinnamon. Remove from the oven and allow the pecans to cool. The sugar will harden more and the pecans come to room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container and store until ready to use.
Notes
- Recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Remember, if you're baking sheet is small, use two baking sheets but make sure the pecans are in a single layer.
- If you do not want the candied nuts to have a vanilla flavor, it can be omitted.
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One Comment on “Candied Pecans”
I often make my own flavoured nuts to snack on, so this candied pecan recipe is just perfect for me! Thanks for sharing it Marzia!