Spicy Candied Pecans

Ingredients

2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground paprika
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
pinch of kosher salt or sea salt flakes

Takes 15 Minutes, serves 2 C.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place pecans in a medium-sized bowl. Stir sugar, syrup and spices together in a second smaller bowl. Drizzle sugar-spice mixture onto pecans and toss gently to coat. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading the pecans out evenly. Sprinkle with salt.
Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until nuts are lightly browned.
Remove pecans from oven. Gently slide the parchment paper with pecans onto a wire rack or work surface to cool.

Pass me those SPICY CANDIED PECANS, would you, please? They look might tasty!

If you need a solid sweet and spicy recipe to serve along with COCKTAILS at a party, or just a little mooch to go with a late night good read, let these SPICY CANDIED PECANS be it.

We’re going to keep all of the essential details brief and to the point since this recipe comes together in under 15 minutes and requires just a handful of ingredients.

These SPICY CANDIED PECANS are always just right!

INGREDIENTS

The simplicity of this recipe is what makes it so surprising – pecan halves tossed with a bit of sweet, sprinkled with a titch of spice then finished with some flaked salt… we’re in! When looking for the pecan halves, we suggest picking up way more than the two cups called for in the recipe. You’ll need to answer the calls of “Are there any more of those pecans?” often.

NICE SPICE

The recipe calls for 3/4 of teaspoon of ground spice. Carol makes hers using ground chipotle pepper. Another friend makes this recipe using either paprika or curry powder. They trick here is the quantity of spice at 3/4 of a teaspoon. With that in mind, create your own nice spice blend considering options like cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, chili powder, nutmeg, coriander and so on.

SWEET

We tested this recipe using different sweetening agents but decided that dark brown sugar and maple syrup work best. The brown sugar imparts some caramel notes while the maple syrup adds colour and that rich maple flavouring we enjoy on everything from PANCAKES and BREAKFAST CASSEROLES to WAFFLES. Using Canadian maple syrup is always suggested, it’s so superior in taste and quality, eh?

The pecans tossed in the sugar and spices, sprinkled with sea salt flakes

SALT AND BAKE

Told you this was going to be easy. Simply toss the pecan halves with the spices, maple syrup and brown sugar, then spread onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt flakes. Then it’s to the oven, as directed. Here’s a good time to remind everyone that ovens are dependable appliances, until they’re not. Although we’re saying ten minutes of oven-roasting, best to check your SPICY CANDIED PECANS at the eight-minute mark as every oven operates differently. Toasted nuts are the goal; overcooked nuts are just sad.

ENJOY

Make sure to follow the last direction on the recipe and slide that parchment off the baking sheet as soon as the nuts come out of the oven. This stops the roasting process right away. You can then enjoy your pecans as a crunchy, sweet, salty and spicy treat as you wish. They’re really perfect with our gin-based TANQUERAY MALACCA cocktail, a glass of red or white wine, or a chilled beer. Kids love them with hot chocolate.