These easy homemade candied pecans can be roasting in your oven in under ten minutes. Sweet & sugared with a hint of cinnamon and spice, they’re made with basic ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
How is everyone’s Labor Day Weekend going? Mine has been pretty busy with lots of baking, a few impromptu walks on the trail with the dogs, and providing very minimal assistance to Zach as he works on refinishing our master bathroom (while preparing to take maximum credit for the finished work). Right now I’m sitting out on my patio with two dogs at my feet (and one well-guarded tennis ball) and the scant remainder of these candied pecans by my side.
If only every Monday could be like this.
As soon as I finish typing up this post, I’ll be headed back to the kitchen to stir up another batch of pecans, and as soon as you finish reading this post, you should do the same.
Candied pecans (or walnuts, cashews, etc) are one of my favorite snacks. Zach and I have an Amish/Farmer’s Market only a few miles from our house and every time I go I like to pick up a paper cone filled with candied pecans.
The only downside is that they’re pretty expensive, with small cone (which I’d estimate holds about one cup) costing over five dollars!
But I shell it out every. time.
But not anymore.
As I like to do these days, I decided to go the homemade route and make my own. And although pecans aren’t the cheapest nuts, I picked up a bag of 24 oz from my grocery store for $11.
I trailed a lot of recipe variations trying to get the perfect combination of sugar and cinnamon, and the ultimate winner was one of the simplest.
Egg white, beaten until frothy, to make everything stick together. Sugar with just a hint of brown sugar (for a little caramelization-flavor), cinnamon, a dash of salt for depth, and just a pinch of allspice. You can make these nuts without allspice if you don’t have any in your pantry, and they’ll still turn out delicious, but the flavor of the pecans that I always get from the Amish markets seemed to have a little extra oomph, and after doing the sniff-test on every spice in my cabinet I deduced that allspice was the secret ingredient. It adds just a little extra flavor and a very subtle spice.
It takes literally five minutes to prep this recipe, I don’t think I have another recipe on my site that takes so little prep time.
With their sweet, crunchy shellac and candied crevices, these pecans are the perfect easy snack and would go great in a salad or wrapped up as a gift around Christmastime (but let’s not think about Christmas yet, it’s not even officially Fall, right?)
Happy Labor Day!
Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp water 5ml
- 2 cups halved pecans 225g
- 2/3 cup sugar 140g
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 25g
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt 1g
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional adjust according to your own taste), 1g
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 300F (150C) and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Grease the surface with butter.
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Combine egg white and water in a large bowl and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds (mixture should be foamy/frothy).
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Add pecans and stir until all pecans are coated in egg white.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt, and allspice.
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Pour the sugar mixture over the pecans and stir until completely combined.
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Spread nuts in an even layer onto prepared cookie sheet.
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Bake on 300f (150C) for 40-45 minutes*, removing cookie sheet from oven every 15 minutes and using a spatula to stir/flip the pecans (be sure to stir ALL of the sugar mixture as well, or it may burn to the pan).
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After baking, allow to cool at least 15 minutes before enjoying.
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Store uneaten pecans in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
*Some people have reported that their sugar starts to burn near the 45 minute mark. Be sure to stir your pecans & the mixture well every 15 minutes and start checking around 35-40 minutes.
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That’s a very interesting idea. I’ll definitely have to try that out. Although I’ll probably use almonds instead of pecans. And maybe throw in a teaspoon of vanilla sugar.
I bet it would be great with almonds. The vanilla sugar would be good, too! Be careful though because it can be overpowering, a few of my batches were tried with vanilla and I just didn’t like it as much as I did without (very rich, masked the taste of the nuts a bit too much), but these are so easy it’s worth a shot (maybe half a batch with, half a batch without)!
That sounds like a plan 🙂
These are so surprisingly easy! Would love to try this with a variety of nuts- too delicious 🙂
Thank you, Medha! 🙂
These sound great Sam. I will definitely be trying them. For many years I have been making Chinese Fried Walnuts and Pecans to give as gifts but your nuts are easier and definitely healthier. Thanks, hugs, Pat
Those Chinese Fried Walnuts and Pecans sound absolutely AMAZING, Pat! I don’t think I’ve ever had them but I wish I lived near you to try some of those! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Happy Labor Day
I love these! I’ve tried other candied nuts with egg whites, and am always so thrilled with how crispy and delicious they turn out. These are the perfect way to welcome fall!
Thank you, Elizabeth! 🙂
I was craving some candied nuts, such as the ones I get whenever I visit Cabela’s. I suppose they may be similar to the ones you get from the Amish markets. Unfortunately, me and my family did not enjoy these. I made your recipe exactly as stated, but we just didn’t enjoy the texture and flavor. While they weren’t bad, it just didn’t satisfy my craving. I think the biggest thing I can suggest is to cut the time down, maybe 5-10 minutes, as the sugar started tasting burnt on some of the nuts.
I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Hi Chris! Thank you for the feedback! I haven’t had the nuts from Cabela’s, I will have to pick some up next time I’m there and see how similar they are. I’m sorry they weren’t a hit for you guys!
I’m not sure why they started to burn, but someone else had a similar issue so I’m going to add some notes to the recipe (they’ve never burnt for me and I’ve made these about a dozen+ times so far, so maybe it could be a temperature difference in the ovens).
I appreciate the feedback! 🙂
This looks great!
Thank you! 🙂
These were a hit with the family. My husband thought I had purchased them. I will definitely be making them again.
OMG these were amazing. Gave them as gifts over Christmas and have been making them every weekend since! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!