Spicy Candied Pecans
This recipe, adapted from Bon Appetit, makes about 1 1/2 cups of habit forming spicy-sweet pecans.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1//2 cup pecan halves
- Vegetable oil spray
- 1 teaspoon Hawaiian or kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the water, sugar and cayenne in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Add the pecan halves to the pan.
Reduce heat to medium and allow the mixture to bubble, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is very thick and the nuts are well coated, about 20 minutes. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray well with vegetable oil spray. Drain the syrup off the pecan halves and transfer the nuts to the tray. Sprinkle with the course salt.
Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Spicy candied pecans are excellent on salads or as an hors d’oeuvre with wine and cheese. Regardless of when and how they’re served, they’ll disappear quickly!