Candied Pecans

Pecan lovers of the world unite!  Here's a simple recipe for candied pecans which you can make in just over an hour.  I hesitate to give this one out because it's so good, but since it was passed to me by a family friend I feel comfortable passing it to the rest of you.  Just don't tell anyone!  You can give these out as gifts, go to town on them yourself, use them as a salad topping, or shove them up your nose.  I don't really care what you do with them, but I will insist that they are better when taken orally.

This recipe post is a reboot from December 2011, but since I learned how to use my camera a bit better since then, I'm reposting with edited visuals.

My 2012 batch of spiced pecans.  Coming your way soon, if you've been good

Candied Pecans

by Robin Connell

• 1 egg white
• 3 to 4 cups pecan halves 
• 1/2 cup sugar
•  3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1 tablespoon water

The spice assortment for a double batch.  Clockwise, from center: sugar, sea salt, Saigon cinnamon,  freshly ground nutmeg, freshly ground cloves.  Don't even bother with old spices, if you're going the distance use high quality for this.

Is that... yes!  It's a half gallon of pecans.

Place egg whites in a large bowl.  Add water and beat lightly.  Add nuts and stir until moistened.  Mix sugar, salt and spices in a small bowl.  By the way, don't assume you can just pour everything piecemeal over the nuts, or you will get bits that taste intensely like cloves, and other bits that taste like pecans and sugar.  Mix up those spices first.

Lay everything out on 1-2 baking sheets, preferably lined with something.  I used parchment paper.

Pour the spices over the nuts and mix well.  Put the nuts on a well-greased cookie sheet.  Stir 2 or 3 times while cooking.  Bake for one hour at 250 degrees.  Try to pull them out before they turn too dark, or else they will be over-roasted and taste more like coffee than anything else.

The finished products, vastly improved from last year's overcooking

Allow these to cool, then break up gently.

Allow nuts to cool on sheet, stirring lightly to dislodge cooled sugars from parchment, foil, or pan.  Break apart large clusters of nuts gently, or don't if you're concerned that you will break up the nut halves.  Store in a tin, or a bag - if they last that long.

Candied pecans, bagged and ready to go for the holidays