Crunchy Candy Pecans

The aroma of roasting candied pecans will fill your home as these nuts bake. The nuts are delicious on their own as a treat, as a topper for a salad, or as a garnish for a dessert.

Crunchy Candy Pecans

1 cup white sugar
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg white
1 Tb. vanilla extract or water
1 pound pecan halves (4 cups)

Preheat oven to 250°. Grease a baking sheet or jelly roll pan – the pan needs to have sides. Use shortening only, since a Pam-type spray will burn, and the nuts will stick to the pan.

In a large Ziploc bag (or a bowl), mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Separate egg white into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla.

Using a fork or whisk, beat together the egg white and vanilla just until frothy. I use a fork, since I can also use the fork to stir in the nuts, and that is one less utensil to wash!

Add the pecans to egg white mixture and stir to coat all the nuts evenly. They should all be shiny.

Pour the nuts into the bag (or bowl) with the sugar, and toss them in the sugar mixture until well coated.

Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 250° for 1 hour. Stir the nuts well every 15 minutes, and spread them out again so they will toast evenly.

Cool completely, or serve warm. Store in a sealed container. These will keep for several weeks on the countertop or in the cupboard (if they are not eaten before then.) They will keep for about a year in the refrigerator, and longer in the freezer, as long as they are in an airtight container. Bring them to room temperature before serving them. Makes about 6 cups.

Melinda's Notes: I tracked down this recipe after tasting the roasted cinnamon nuts at a outdoor market. I tried several recipes and liked how easy this one was – and how good the nuts tasted. I have made these as Christmas treats for our neighbors and friends for several years now. They are so easy, and I have feedback that they are addictive! A side benefit of making these nuts (besides eating them, of course) is that your whole house will smell wonderful for a couple of days.

I once ordered a salad at a nice restaurant which had some of these nuts on top. Yum! Now there's a great idea. A sprinkling of the smaller pieces really is delicious on a salad.

You don't just have to use pecans; you can use any kind of unsalted nuts for this recipe, such as almonds, cashews, or walnuts. Slivered almonds work better than whole almonds, since whole almonds tend to get too crunchy after toasting for an hour.

Now you have a leftover egg yolk (or maybe you made three batches like I did and you have three egg yolks). You can make Italian Nut Balls or German's Sweet Chocolate Cake Frosting (Coconut-Pecan), or – even better – one of the cream pies with variations.