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Crunchy spiced pecans in a scalloped snack bowl.

Candied Pecans Anyone Can Make (Easy, Crunchy, Delicious)


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  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 pound Candied Pecans 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Perfect for holiday office parties or family get-togethers, these party nuts keep your guests satiated while the turkey or ham is still in the oven (especially if you're also serving pre-dinner drinks at your soiree).

This is the easiest spiced nuts recipe you can make requiring a mere 5 minutes of hands-on time, a bowl, and a baking sheet, plus it's vegetarian and gluten-free and it's always the first thing to disappear from any holiday buffet!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar or pure cane sugar (80g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1.5g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pumpkin spice (1.5g) (sub cinnamon if desired)
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (15g)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more or less to taste (1.5 to 3g)
  • 1 pound pecan halves (454g) (sub walnuts, almonds, etc.)


Instructions

  1. Toss the pecans in the egg white-vanilla extract mixture. Preheat the oven to 250°F/120°C. Add the egg white and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the pecans and toss them until fully coated on all sides. 
  2. Coat the pecans with sugar and spices. In a small prep bowl, add the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice (if using) and stir until well blended. Add the mixture to the pecans and toss well to fully coat the nuts.
  3. Bake the pecans. Add the pecans to a baking sheet (with or without a silicone baking mat) and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Give the nuts a stir, rearrange them back into a single layer, and bake for 15 more minutes before tossing them again. Continue baking for 30 more minutes tossing the nuts 2 more times at 15-minute intervals. After about 1 hour of total cooking time, the pecans should be evenly browned, crunchy, and no longer sticky. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature before storing them in a glass jar or eating them, Enjoy!

Notes

  • You may use half brown sugar and half granulated sugar to give the candied pecans even more caramel flavor, but you may need to increase the roasting time by a few minutes because brown sugar has more moisture in it than granulated sugar.
  • Substitute any nuts or seeds for the pecans in this recipe, but be sure to account for the revised baking time needed. For instance, the raw peeled peanuts I used took 30 to 45 minutes longer to roast than the raw pecans, so I ended up separating out the pecans when they were ready and putting the peanuts back into the oven to finish (don't make this mistake). If you used pepita seeds for instance, they would likely take less time than the pecans, so on and so forth.

How to Store Candied Pecans

Store candied pecans in a sealed glass jar at room temperature for up to 1 week (or any airtight container will do). These don't last long at our house, but if you want to make them ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze them you can (see below):

  • Store them at room temperature for up to a week
  • Store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks
  • Store them in the freezer in a freezer bag, or other airtight container (tempered glass jars work well too) for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove them from the container and allow them to come to room temperature on a baking tray.

Can You Add Other Flavors to Homemade Candied Pecans?

Yes, you can easily add different flavors to candied pecans or other party nuts by substituting the vanilla extract with other extracts like almond, coconut, orange, or even rum extract. You can also add cayenne pepper to make spicy candied pecans. Or use different spices like nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and ginger to give them a different spiced flavor altogether. Lastly, you can also add grated orange zest to give candied pecans a slight citrus flavor or add cayenne for a spicy kick which also tastes great.

 

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Category: Nibbles + Bits
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
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