A look at the newspapers this weekend—and attendance at my first holiday event—tells me I should be talking about holiday foods here. I’m not sure I’m entirely in the mood, but maybe some holiday-ish cooking will bring me around.
To that end, I offer up for your consideration a tried-and-true, easy and delicious (albeit a little expensive) holiday favorite of mine: candied pecans.
This is a great recipe, an only slightly edited version of the one I found in Colorado Cache Cookbook (which I’m amazed to see is still in print
, although it’s the fourth edition, compared with my second edition version). The only thing wrong with this recipe is that you might want to save the finished product for yourself.
Candied pecans
- 1 teaspoon cold water
- 1 egg white
- 1 pound pecan halves
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Beat water and egg white in medium bowl until frothy. Add pecans; toss to coat with egg mixture.
- Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Add to pecans, and mix well.
- Distribute mixture on large pan with a rim, such as a jellyroll or broiler pan. Bake in 225-degree oven about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Cool completely, then store in airtight container.
NOTES: For one reason or another (perhaps melting sugar?), these frequently seem to be a little damp, even after an hour. You can bake them longer if you like—I haven’t had a problem with the nuts burning—but it doesn’t seem necessary. The moisture disappears when the nuts are cool. I’ve given them as gifts in canning jars and in cellophane bags, and recipients inevitably ask for the recipe.
I haven’t made them yet this year, but as soon as I do, I’ll post a photo.
Baking secrets revealed! | foodperson.com // Dec 20, 2007 at 9:01 pm
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