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Candied Pecans

May 9th, 2011

Candied Pecans

These are a real situation for me. Chocolate cake: I don’t have to have it. Cookies: I could walk by them if I needed to. But candied nuts is up there with caramel corn in the kryptonite category. I can’t help myself. Like not even a little bit. I went so far as to wrap the top of the bowl in a dish towel to try to keep my grubby little fingers out of the bowl. It only worked until I pulled the towel off.

Enough about my embarrassing lack of will power, and more about the nuts. Besides compulsive snacking, they are also outstanding in salads. In fact I will post one tomorrow. And with how incredibly expensive (and often mediocre) candied nuts are to buy at the store- this makes my life easier and tastier!

The whipped egg white is what helps them have the lightest, crispiest coating instead of a more traditional glaze. There is just a bit of cinnamon and a tiny bit of cayenne for dimension, but you could certainly kick it up with more cayenne.

Have fun making this easy and ADDICTIVE snack. Oh- also, you could obviously do this recipe with any other type of nuts.

Candied Pecans
2 cups pecans
1 egg white
1 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a sheet pan with a silpat or a piece of parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk an egg white with a pinch of salt until frothy and pale.

Add the nuts and gently toss to coat.

Add ½ cup of sugar and toss.

Add the rest of the sugar, salt and spices.

Toss to coat and spread on a sheetpan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Take them out and stir them around with a spatula.

Bake them for an additional 5 minutes.

When you take them out, stir them a little further with the spatula and let them cool.

Store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to a month.