Forget sugar plums.It's all about the sugared pecans.
Warning: This is quite possibly one of the most addictive holiday snacks out there. I generally eat my weight in them during the month of December. No worries though: January was designed to make up for all of the December indiscretions.
Your stomach may cry out for you to stop the overload of cookies and fudge, but it will never turn away the satisfying crunch and sweet n' salty balance of a sugar-coated pecan.
As you're making your list of what to bake for who this season, consider these thoughts on sugared pecans:
- They're the perfect gift for someone with gluten-intolerance. It's easy for folks with Celiac Disease to feel left out of the seasonal fun, what with all the flour-heavy baked treats. Sugared pecans will surely bring a smile to their face.
- Consider adding these crunchy little gems to a gift for the gourmet beer-lover in your life. Fill an empty basket from the attic with select beers, a bag of sugared pecans, and a bag of homemade snack mix.
- They're also packaged beautifully in clean, empty jam or nut butter jars.
- They make a great stocking stuffer--just wrap them in a clear cellophane bag with some ribbon and raffia.
Can you tell I'm just nutty for this snack?
Sugared Pecans
(adapted from this recipe at Allrecipes.com)
Whether you're making these as a gift, or just for your awesome self, I promise you won't regret it. Promise.
Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 TBSP vanilla
- 1 pound pecan halves (I actually mixed a handful of whole almonds into this batch as well)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2) In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla until frothy. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3) Add the pecans to the egg white mixture and stir until coated. Coat the nuts with the sugar mixture until evenly-covered. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for approximately one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
4) Package 'em up and send 'em out. But not before you eat a few...handfuls.
I can't make sugared pecans because they will just go straight from the cookie sheet into my mouth.
ReplyDeleteLove love love this idea. I have every intention of doing something like this for Christmas gifts :) I love how personal homemade gifts are. To me, they are simply the best!!
ReplyDeleteSugared anything is my cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteI like to think that we can justify this because nuts are a great source of protein.
ReplyDeleteI also like to justify "testing" half of the pan because they might kill someone.
Enabling is a strength of mine.
After making the sweet and spicy cocktail nuts for french fridays with dorie, I am not addicted to sugared nuts. The pecans were my favorite out of the mix so I am SOO excited to that you posted a recipe for sugar pecans!!! The recipe sounds amazing, I love that it uses vanilla. I'm going to be making this very soon, thanks so much. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not the biggest fan of nuts, except for peanuts. But these even sound delish to me! My mom is a huge pecan lover..this may have to be an extra gift for her! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThese look awesome. I love pecans! To add sugar to them is genius. :)
ReplyDeleteYUM! I cannot be left alone with these - I always eat waaaay too many! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I make a similar recipe and I totally agree: once I eat one I cannot stop! They are fantastic used sparsely in salads - I make one with spinach/romaine, fuyu persimmons, and a balsamic dressing. The nuts give it an extra zing!
ReplyDeleteThese look just like some nuts that a co-worker of Matt's made last year and he brought home to "share" with me. Bad idea. I ate the whole jar! Yours look PERFECT!
ReplyDeleteThese would be the perfect gift for me to hand out to friends and family this year. Our new apartment is surrounded by beautiful pecan tress, and I would love to honor our new home by making these addictive sweets! Thank you for sharing with me, love. I hope you have a great Monday!
ReplyDeleteI like pecans best when cinnamon and sugar is involved! Like you said, these really are a great idea for the GF folks. Seems like more and more people are discovering they can't have wheat. The addition of almonds sounds amazing!
ReplyDelete