Extra Crunchy Candied Pecans

Thanks to my mom adjusting this recipe for literal years, these have become one of my best received (+ most requested) holiday gifts, and are so good that my chef friend used them on his menu. Some solid credentials if I do say so myself. へ_(‾◡◝ )> These lil’ guys take just 5 ingredients, *stay* cronchy, and are perfect as a dessert topping, in salads, or straight up on their own (warning: whole batches have been consumed in one sitting by this method. I’m not even tryna’ be corny it’s just true).

Ingredients and Substitutions

Pecans

• I’ve used macadamia and peanuts as well, and think that any other nut would work fine.
• Nut allergy sub: for seeds, I think pumpkins seeds would work the best (2 c instead of 2.25 c).
• Note: whatever you use, make sure it’s raw and unsalted.

A note on storing: nuts and seeds have oils that can be beneficial to health (e.g., anti-inflammatory), but can also go rancid (just like cooking oils) and become more inflammatory – can’t really tell by looking, but they’ll have a bitter aftertaste, sometimes sour. So, if you’re storing them for more than a month, it’s best to keep em’ in the fridge / freezer.

Brown Sugar: richer, caramel-ly flavor compared to cane sugar.

• Keto sub: Swerve brown sugar replacement.

Ground Cinnamon: adds nuanced sweetness, and has been found to help stabilize blood sugar levels in both healthy and T2-diabetic individuals – so shoutout evolution and mother nature for making it pair so well with sweets.

• Additional option: add a pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth.
• Alternate option: chef friend used five spice instead (has cinnamon in it), which adds some more dimension and savory notes.

Kosher Salt: balances sweet flavors, helps draw out moisture.

• If using anything other than kosher salt, do half the amount.

Egg White + Water: egg whites help draw out moisture, and, when whisked and baked, the airy bubbles will form a crust to get that extra ~cronchy~ coating. The small amount of water added helps to stabilize the bb air bubbles that get whisked in.

• Vegan sub: some comments suggested using aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas), though I’ve not yet tried this myself.
• Note: personally vote not tossing the separated egg yolk, and instead using it to make soy cured egg yolks or carbonara-adjacent pasta.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 225˚F. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, and mix to evenly distribute.

2. Separate egg-white from yolk into a mixing bowl, add water, and whisk (or use a beater / immersion blender) until soft peaks form.

3. Fold pecans into the egg whites to evenly coat, then gently mix in dry ingredients.

4. Spread the mixture evenly over a tray lined with a baking mat / parchment paper, or lightly greased, and place in pre-heated oven. Remove every 15 minutes to stir the pecans for even toasting, for a total of 1 hour in the oven.

5. Let cool on tray at room temp, then store in an airtight container. Stores at room temp for ~a month, or in the fridge for months (cold temp will preserve the quality of oils in nuts).

To make a larger batch (3x)

When I wanna’ make a bunch at a time, especially for gifting – same instructions, except using 2 baking trays, and baking for 1.5 hours (i.e. removing to stir 5 times total).

Ingredient Measurements:

• 3 eggs, whites only
• 2 tbsp filter water
• 6.75 c raw pecans (~2 lbs)
• 1.5 c brown sugar, tightly packed
• 0.75 tsp kosher salt
• 4.5 tsp ground cinnamon

Extra Crunchy Candied Pecans

thingslinadoes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook TIme 1 hour hr

EQUIPMENT

• 2 mixing bowls
• Whisk / beater / immersion blender
• Baking tray (lined with baking mat/parchment paper, or lightly greased)

Ingredients

  

• 1 egg, white only
• 2 tsp filtered water
• 2.25 c raw pecans
• 0.5 c brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 225˚F (~105˚C)
• In smaller mixing bowl, add sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, mix, and set aside.
  0.5 c brown sugar,, 1/8 tsp kosher salt, 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• In second bowl, add eggs white + water, and beat/whisk until soft peak forms.
  1 egg,
• Fold pecans into egg whites to coat, then gently mix in dry ingredients.
  2.25 c raw pecans
• Spread nuts evenly over baking tray. Bake until toasted & fragrant (~1 hr), stirring every 15 min so that they toast evenly. Let cool to room temp on tray, then store in an airtight container. Stays good for at least a month.

Keyword candied pecans, extra crunchy, recipe