the best candied pecans

these easy pecans are a hit in our house every year – no one can stop eating them! use them to top salads, roasted vegetables or eat as is! they also make a perfect homemade gift during the holiday season.

You guys.

These things are indescribably good.  They’re the perfect combination of sweet, salty and crunchy.  They’re literally everything you could ever want in a snack (or a meal if you’re like me and literally can’t stop eating them until you’re full!).

I make them every single year and without fail (despite doubling and tripling the batch) we finish them all off.

Just look at that little guy up there.  Does it get any better??

These also make an awesome Christmas gift.  I love to buy cute little tins, fill them up and distribute them out to friends and family.  I promise you it will make your gift giving one to remember.

A woman in my dad’s office used to make and gift these to us every year and it’s actually what inspired me to start making them!  Our whole family would talk about how much we loved them (whilst devouring the entire tin, which incidentally never seemed to be big enough) every year so I finally decided to just start making them myself.

They’re also so simple to pull together.  It’s about 5 minutes of prep before they go into the oven and then all you have to do is stir them every 15 minutes or so while they bake.  Trust me, if I was able to continue making these with an infant, I promise you’ll be able to do it!

And if you’re lucky enough to have any leftover, they’re awesome thrown on top of salads, put into trail mix or mixed with roasted veggies.

the best candied pecans

• Author: Cait
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 – 45 minutes
• Total Time: 45 – 50 minutes
• Yield: 4 cups 1x
• Category: snack
• Method: baked

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Description

these easy pecans are a hit in our house every year – no one can stop eating them! use them to top salads, roasted vegetables or eat as is! they also make a perfect homemade gift during the holiday season.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups unsalted pecans
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon (see notes for different varieties!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine sugars, spice, and salt. Whisk to combined then set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the egg white, vanilla, and water.  Whisk (I find an electric mixer is easiest) until frothy (you want some hold to the egg whites but you don’t want stiff peaks).
4. Add the pecans to the bowl with the egg white mixture and toss until the pecans are coated.  Add in the sugar mixture and toss gently until pecans are well coated.
5. Place coated pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, tossing every 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 1-2 minutes before digging in!

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Notes

• Pecans will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
• For apple pie spiced pecans – reduce cinnamon to 1/2 tablespoon and add 1/2 tablespoon apple pie spice
• For pumpkin pie spiced pecans – reduce cinnamon to 1/2 tablespoon and add 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Keywords: pecans, candied pecans, snack

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recipe from two peas and their pod with a few tweaks to reduce sugar and salt