CANDIED PECANS

Cinnamon sugar blessed, crunchy, sweet, salty, toasty, quietly spicy, snackin' nuts, worth writing home about.

TOP TEN REASONS TO MAKE CANDIED PECANS

10.  They're bloody good with a glass of wine.

9.  They'll convert the die-hardest, non-candied-nut-liking person, at first nibble.

8.  Did I mention cinnamon sugar?

7.  The soft after thought of heat on your taste buds, is nothing short of bewitching.

6.  Besides just for munching, they're dee-licious on salads, cheese trays, dessert plates, sundaes. 

5.  Your house will smell enticingly fantastic when you are baking these nuts.

4.  They make a boom-shaka-laka hostess gift.

3.  Your friends and family will appreciate you just a teensy weensy bit more.

2.  You can't eat just one.

1.  They will make you smile out loud when you serve them.  Or nibble them.  Or scarf them down.

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Yesterday was a very good day.  When I was at The Mediterranean Market, one of my favorite supply stores, this as yet untasted cheese screamed out to me from behind their gloriously tempting deli counter.  So out the door went I with a bodacious wedge of Chaumes. And a loaf of Potato Butter Milk bread, that was still warm when I bought it from Save On. 

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Before long, a crust-end slice of fresh-baked bread, smooched with cold-from-the-fridge butter with little chunks of creamy, dreamy soft Chaumes squished on top, was in my happy hands.  Bite, munch, nibble, chomp, chomp. (small, soft, moans of pleasure)

And then I had an epiphany!!  I went a grabbed a handful of the candied pecans I'd made earlier and placed one carefully on top of my next bite of cheese topped bread and the world stopped, for just a second.  OHHH Mama!!

 

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Thanks Gimme Some Oven Food Blog for this great nut recipe.
They're amazing, really.

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CANDIED PECANS - Makes about 6 cups

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 - 3/4 teaspoon cayenne (you pick your spicy kick quotient. But always use at least 1/8 teaspoon!)
4 cups nice plump, pecan halves, unsalted
1 egg white, whisked

Preheat oven to 300F.

Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cayenne to a large bowl, or ziplock bag.  Toss or whisk until evenly combined.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add pecans and the egg white, and gently toss, toss, toss until the pecans are evenly coated.  Add in the sugar mixture and stir and toss until evenly combined.

Spread the mixture out in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  (If your baking sheet is not that large, you may need to split the batch onto two baking sheets.)  Bake for 25 minutes, then stir and bake for another 20 minutes, until the pecans are fragrant and the sugar coating is cooked.  (The coating will harden more once the pecans are out of the oven.)

Remove from the oven and let the baking sheet cool on a cooling rack until the nuts reach room temperature.  Try one, now.  Told you about #2 on the Top 10 reasons!!! 

Transfer them to a sealed container to store.