This quick holiday snack-y food is simple and fast. Toasted pecans that are sweet, salty, and mildly spicy all-at-once. They taste great.
The recipe I use is adapted from the recipes of Emeril Lagasse and Alton Brown.
Ingredients:
1 lb. – Pecan Halves
1/2 tsp. – Cumin
1/2 tsp. – Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp. – Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. – Dried Ground Orange Peel
1/2 tsp. – Dried Ground Lemon Peel
1 tsp. – Kosher Salt (use a little more if you want saltier pecans)
4 Tbsp. – Unsalted Butter
4 Tbsp. – Light Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. – Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. – Water
Directions:
(1) Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Measure and mix the spices together. Measure your other ingredients and have them ready.
(2) Pour the pecan halves into a large pan over medium heat. Toast the pecans, stirring constantly, until the nuts begin to brown and smell pecan-y – 5 or 6 minutes. Keep the heat moderate to prevent burning.
(3) Lower the heat a little and add the butter all at once – continue stirring to melt the butter and coat the pecans. Keep moving the pecans as the water in the butter boils-off – about 1 minute or so.
(4) Add the spices and continue stirring to distribute the spices and coat the pecans – about 1 minute.
(5) Crumble the sugar over the pecans and add the water while you continue stirring. The water will help the sugar dissolve and coat the pecans. The coating will thicken as the water then evaporates and the pecans will be shiny from the sugar glaze – 2 or 3 minutes.
(6) Pour the glazed pecans onto your prepared sheet pan to cool. Working quickly, separate the individual nuts as best you can with a fork or your spatula so they won’t form clumps. As the pecans cool, the sugar will solidify to adhere the spices to the nuts. After an hour or so, remove the nuts from the sheet pan and separate them by hand. Place in an airtight container.
Illustration:
Have all of your ingredients measured-out and ready before you begin.
The spices – cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, dried orange and lemon peel, and salt.
Note – Cumin and cayenne are strong spices so a little bit goes a long way. The finished pecans should be reminiscent of these spices, not overpowered by them. I would caution against being overzealous when you measure these spices. 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon might not sound like a lot for 1 lb. of pecans, but it is enough to impart the scent and taste of the cinnamon. The cinnamon is not supposed to be the dominant flavor here – the pecans themselves should supply the dominant flavor. You might like a little more salt in your mix, but I’d recommend that you stick to the conservative amounts of everything else as outlined in the list of ingredients above. Emeril Lagasse’s recipe does not include any dried fruit peel. Alton Brown uses only dried orange peel. I added the dried lemon peel. I like dried lemon peel.
The butter.
Light and dark brown sugars.
Note – I kept a glass of water nearby with my tablespoon measure – ready to use.
Toast the nuts over medium heat.
Note – Because pecans are expensive and can burn easily, don’t rush this part. Keep your heat medium to medium-low and keep the pecans moving. It is easier to tell when the pecans are toasty by sight and by smell than by time. They should be fragrant and darken slightly.
Lower the heat slightly then add the butter and stir continuously.
Keep stirring as the water in the butter boils-off and the pecans are uniformly coated.
Add the spices and stir continuously.
Keep stirring to make sure the pecans are uniformly coated with spice.
Crumble the sugar over the pecans and add the water while stirring continuously.
Keep stirring while the glaze thickens. Make sure all the pecans are evenly coated and shiny.
Pour the glazed pecans onto your prepared sheet pan and separate the nuts so they won’t clump. Work quickly.
Note – The sugar glaze will harden pretty quickly onto the nuts. It will also harden pretty quickly onto any utensils you might have used so you might want to attend to cleaning-up as soon as you arrange the pecans on the parchment paper (or foil). Give the pecans an hour or so to fully cool, then separate them by hand and store in an airtight container.
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