Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder optional for a little kick
- 4 tablespoons vanilla
- 2 egg whites
- 8 cups pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a very large bowl, combine the vanilla and egg whites with a whisk. Add the pecans and stir until they are all evenly coated.
- Place the pecans and the dry mixture in a large gallon bag and shake until well coated.
- Pour the pecans onto the baking sheets and spread evenly.
- Bake for 60 minutes, tossing every 20 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.
~Amanda~
Candied Pecans are one of the best things about the holiday season, the very thought of them evokes so many Christmas memories. All through our lives we’ve always had candied pecans at holiday parties or been given a bag full as a gift and always thought they were awesome, but we never really understood how good they could be homemade. That was up until a few years ago when our dad made some for all of us and they were pretty much the BEST. THING. EVER. He hit it out of the park! These candied pecans are sweet, salty, slightly spicy, crunchy and soft all at the same time and they are now a must have for us every holiday season. We refer to them as our Christmas Crack!
Since Daddy-O did such an amazing job making them, we had planned on just letting him be the pecan connoisseur going forward, but that quickly changed last year when some of Conor’s co-workers started requesting them (they were lucky enough to sample some in years past and they were ready for more)! We quickly got the recipe from Dad – and his tips on how to make them so perfect – and decided that we would make them to go in gift bags for our co-workers along with a bunch of our other holiday cookies and treats. Candied pecans are the best gift and a great way to share the holiday love! We’ll be doing it again this year too!
Making the pecans was actually fairly simple, but a bit messy and a little time consuming! The ingredient list is short; It starts with white sugar and brown sugar – yes, there is A LOT of sugar! These are in no way healthy, but they are worth every single calorie, holiday treats are what January gym resolutions are made from, am I right?! Cinnamon adds great flavor and warmth and cayenne adds just a tiny little kick. Then egg whites are mixed with vanilla and then used as a binder to get all that awesome sugar to stick to the pecans. They’re baked low and slow so the sugars get slightly caramelized and crunchy and by the time they’re done your house smells like heaven – or maybe the north pole? – and I guarantee it will be nearly impossible to not eat every single one of them. Enjoy!
