Ever had a recipe you could not make? Ever? Over and over again? I love candied nuts and I have tried recipe after recipe. From books, from friends. And they were all disasters. Some disasters so bad that I had to throw away the pan, hide gooey or burned results from my wife, and pray she never finds out.
Who wants to be banned from the kitchen. I cannot imagine the humiliation.
And, now, my disasters, my fears, my hiding of a destroyed sheet pans — all that over. This recipe works flawlessly and it is delicious.
Nuts author Patrick Evan-Hylton suggests you can add a dash of cayenne to provide a bit more heat. Do, do follow his proportions when it comes to the nutmeg. A little goes a very long way and can overpower this recipe.
I’m thrilled and guilt free.
Candied Pecans
Yield: 1 pound, almost 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 egg white
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon water
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pound raw pecan halves
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet and set it aside. Or line the pan with foil as I did testing this recipe.
In a mixing bowl, beat the egg white, vanilla, and water just until soft peaks begin to appear; the mixture will be frothy. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the pecans to the egg-white mixture, tossing to coat. Transfer the nuts to the sugar mixture and toss to coat.
Spread the nuts out evenly on the baking sheet.
Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. Watch the nuts in the last 15 to 20 minutes of cooking for doneness: the nuts will be golden brown and firm, and the sugar coating will have hardened. Store the pecans in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.
Source: Nuts by Patrick Evans-Hylton [Sasquatch, 2015]