A few years in the past, I made a decision to create a greater candied pecan—or not less than one which checked all of the bins for me. They have been a standard home made Christmas present in North Carolina, however most of them have been too sticky or greasy for my liking. I longed for a crisp, crunchy, candy and barely spicy nut that was enrobed in a lightweight crust much like a dry praline.
My answer was to beat an egg white till it was frothy and use that to maintain the sugar and spice coating on the nut. The pecans are tossed within the crushed egg white after which they’re sprinkled and tossed with the combination of two sorts of sugar, spices and salt.
My good good friend Bob Blumer makes them so typically that they’re now a part of his repertoire. He calls it “the last word host present and the best use for a leftover egg white ever.” And explains, “because the nuts bake at a low temperature, the crushed egg white puffs up and hardens like a meringue (which isn’t coincidentally produced from crushed egg whites), and the sugar melts into it. Because the nuts cool, so does the sugar. The result’s a gloriously roasted nut, swaddled in an ethereal, crispy, candy and savory crust.”
The primary time I made them, I couldn’t cease consuming them. After that, I attempted the sugar and spice recipe with all types of nuts. It goes with out saying that pecans are heavenly, however walnuts are wonderful as are cashews and I typically make a combination with all three. In the event you like peanuts, they’re subsequent degree—just like the black-kettle sugared peanuts that you just used to get from road distributors—however lighter and a bit spicy. The one nut that didn’t work for me was brazil nuts and macadamia nuts—possibly due to their excessive fats content material.
That is my go-to hostess present and I make them 12 months ‘spherical. I pack them up in a pint Mason jar and add a bow. Generally I embody a small ceramic bowl to the present so the recipient has each the nuts and the serving piece. However more often than not, they find yourself consuming them straight from the jar!
They’re excellent on their very own, and even in the event you’ve completed your procuring, make them for your self, for snacking, for nibbling on with drinks, and including to your subsequent cheese board. A nut with a schmear of blue cheese is a type of excellent bites—no crackers or bread wanted!
You may make the candied nuts recipe with pecans or a mix of nuts like walnuts, pecans and … [+]
Elizabeth Karmel
Elizabeth’s Sugar and Spice Pecans
This recipe will be simply doubled, tripled or quadrupled for all of your present giving wants—simply bear in mind to avoid wasting for your self!
1/3 cup darkish brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 Pinches of cayenne pepper or extra to style
½ teaspoon floor cumin
1 teaspoon floor cinnamon
1 pound pecan halves (or different favourite nuts)
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water
Pint Mason Jars
Preheat Oven to 300°F
Combine collectively sugars, salt, cayenne, cumin and cinnamon; put aside. Beat egg white in a deep bowl that’s massive sufficient to carry the pecans. Beat till frothy however not stiff, add water and stir till effectively mixed—it ought to nonetheless be frothy. Add pecans and stir to coat evenly, Sprinkle nuts with sugar combination and stir till evenly coated. I often toss the nuts within the bowl to coat with the egg white after which toss once more to evenly coat with sugar and spice.
Unfold sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a SilPat or parchment paper. If you need each to be it’s personal puffy piece, separate the nuts from one another. Bake for half-hour, stirring sometimes as wanted. Take away from oven and separate nuts as wanted as they cool.
Let cool for not less than hour earlier than storing in tightly closed container.
