Glazed Pecans
Inside: The secret to making shiny, glazed nuts for garnishing desserts, topping salads, or snacking. These maple candied pecans are spicy, sweet and crunchy, perfect for a holiday charcuterie or cheese board.
This recipe for glazed pecans is a quick and easy way to make irresistibly sweet and crunchy candied pecans. Whether topping a salad, adding a punchy garnish to desserts, or enjoying them as a snack, these glazed nuts are practically effortless to make.
Where most people crave chocolate, I obsess over anything nutty. I’m a fan of peanuts, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, filberts (a.k.a. hazelnuts), and macadamias. But pecans are my favorite.
I’m especially into candied or spiced nuts for snacking and gifting, like these Sweet Spicy Christmas Nuts and popular Mexican Hot Chocolate Spiced Nuts. Those recipes use an egg white base to varnish the nuts with the sugar and spice coating, but these glazed pecans are different: shinier, sleeker, and eye-catching.
The sweetness comes from pure maple syrup and honey, not sugar, and therefore, the preparation method is different and even more straightforward than the egg white versions.
These maple-glazed pecans are a delicious garnish to elevate leafy green salads, gilt cakes, and desserts (sprinkle a few over ice cream–swoon). They’re also great with cocktails on a cheese board or charcuterie platter; you can’t resist them for an afternoon snack.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It uses all natural sweeteners (maple syrup and honey), no corn syrup.
- This pecans recipe has a salty, sweet and spicy flavor and good crunch.
- The candied pecans are ready in about 20 minutes.
- There’s no excess fat or butter, so your fingers have no greasy feeling.
Ingredients:
- Whole Raw Pecans–You want pecan halves because chopped are too small and don’t have the same “wow” factor. Don’t use previously roasted nuts, because they’ll be cooked twice in this recipe.
- Maple Syrup—For these glazed pecans, use grade-A maple syrup, not maple-flavored syrup. You want the real thing.
- Honey–this recipe works with most types of honey, but I look for something citrusy and light. Orange blossom honey works (I used a local honey brand I love), but you can also use clover honey.
- Kosher Salt–balancing the sweetness with a bit of salt gives the glazed nuts a satisfying flavor that’s more nuanced.
- Black Pepper–I recommend using fresh ground black pepper for the best flavor. Pre-ground pepper can get stale and lose its potency after a few months.
- Cayenne Pepper–this adds a tingly spice to the glazed pecans. If you don’t like heat, you can skip it.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Bring the maple syrup, honey, kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook for 30 seconds until the salt has dissolved and the mixture is fragrant.
2. Add the pecans to the glaze mixture and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat to coat the nuts.
3. Cook the nuts for about 4 minutes;keep stirring so they don’t burn and turn the venting fan on so you don’t get a blast of spices in your nostrils.
4. Spread the glazed pecans over a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 350° F.
5. After toasting, let them cool to room temperature and break them into clusters. Transfer the glazed pecans to an airtight storage container lined with parchment to help prevent sticking—store at room temperature.
Pro-Tips:
- Use the venting fan on your stovetop to remove the fumes, which can be overpowering because of the cayenne and black pepper. (I made this batch using my portable cooktop, and the fan wasn’t available; the spices made me cough when heated).
- Spread the nuts into a single layer and separate them as well as you can. The glazed nuts tend to cluster together, which is fine, but you’ll have to break them apart later.
- Let the nuts cool to room temperature before enjoying. They’ll get drier and more crunchy as they cool.
- Glazed pecans don’t dry out completely, so they will have a tacky feel, which can be especially noticeable on humid days.
- Don’t store the nuts in the refrigerator; otherwise, they’ll lose their crunchiness.
Swaps and substitutions
- Add ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon for even more spice flavors.
- If you don’t like spicy food, you can eliminate the cayenne or swap it for another spice or spice blend (cinnamon or apple pie spice).
- You can use any nut (or combination of nuts) for this recipe. If you use smaller-sized ones, you may need to bake for a few minutes less so they don’t burn.
FAQs
“Glaze” implies a shiny coating, whereas candied could denote a rough sugar-coated nut, therefore glazed nuts are candied, but all candied nuts aren’t necessarily glazed.
Anything can be healthy in moderation, but nuts are high in calories and fat. Maple syrup and honey are natural sweeteners but are still high in calories.
They’re glazed with honey and maple syrup, two sticky ingredients. Without commercial food science additives, the nuts will always be slightly tacky. When baked, any pecans that touch tend to glue together, making nut clusters.
Storage:
- Store glazed pecans in an airtight container at room temperature.
- If possible, separate layers of the nuts between pieces of parchment to prevent sticking.
Freezing:
- These candied pecans don’t freeze well as they become softer in the freezer, and when defrosting, the moisture can make them stickier.
Ways I use glazed pecans:
- These candied pecans are delicious on my Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad, and are the crowning touch to holiday salads like Caramelized Pear Gorgonzola Salad, and Pear Pomegranate Salad.
- When assembling the Best Cheese Board Ideas candied nuts add an element of interest and are always the first thing to go.
- Ring a Double Chocolate Layer Cake with glazed pecans for a beautiful presentation and to add a crunchy element.
- Gift them to friends or neighbors for holidays wrapped in a mason jar with a bow on top.
- Enjoy them like candy, right out of the jar.
More candied nut recipes:
Glazed Spiced Pecans
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
- parchment paper
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Add 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper into a heavy, medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until it's well combined, about 30 seconds
- Add 2 cups pecans, stirring constantly. The mixture will foam initially, then subside and begin to toast. Toast the nuts with the glaze, stirring constantly for 4 minutes.
- Transfer the glazed nuts to the baking sheet and spread evenly into a single layer.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes then remove from the oven and cool the glazed pecans to room temperature.
- Break them apart into clusters and store in an airtight container. Nuts will be slightly tacky at room temperature.
RECIPE VIDEO:
NOTES:
- One serving is approximately ¼ cup.
- Do not refrigerate.
NUTRITION:
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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 are so addicting!!!