I recently took my grandfather grocery shopping and while we were perusing the aisles and loading up on eggs and his favorite strawberry jam, I came across a bag of glazed pecans. They looked and sounded really good. I must have been hungry, because they wound up in the basket.
On my trip home from his house, I ate the whole bag. Let’s ignore my obvious gluttonous tendencies for a moment and consider those glazed pecans.
I don’t know if it was the crunchiness of the nuts, the sweet glaze that was tacky, but not sticky, or the hint of spice that hit my tongue a few seconds after I swallowed. Maybe it was the combination. I couldn’t get them out of my head.
Obviously, I had to make them — and I was stunned to realize how deceptively simple they were to recreate at home. You would think “glaze” would require a candy thermometer at the least. Nope. This recipe took about 10 minutes. It required longer to cool than to cook. This one’s definitely a keeper!
Faintly sweet, these pecans add a yummy crunch to salads, are delicious sprinkled over ice cream or desserts, or simply addictive with a cocktail. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Glazed Spiced Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- dash cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Add all ingredients into a heavy, medium-sized saucepan. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will foam initially, then subside and begin to toast. The entire cooking cycle should take between 4-6 minutes. Pecans and glaze should be very fragrant, but not to the point of burning.
- Transfer the glazed nuts to the baking sheet and spread evenly into a single layer. Let cool completely. Nuts can be stored in a airtight container for several days.
Is there anything better than glazed nuts? They are so delicious and tasty and if you don’t devour them all in one sitting, they are perfect over salad and roasted root veggie purees! I love these! They look so addicting!!!