These tasty nuts make a delicious snack, or are great sprinkled on a salad of tossed greens. Nuts may lose their crispiness if they’re left out uncovered for an extended period. If that happens, restore crispiness by warming them in oven again for 5-10 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 large egg white
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
4 cups (1 pound) raw pecan halves
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, use electric mixer or whisk to beat the egg white until foamy (30-40 seconds with mixer).
Add sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, salt, cayenne (if using), vanilla and water; mix until well combined (15-20 seconds with mixer). Stir in pecans until all are well coated with the mixture. Pour onto baking sheet and spread out nuts into a single layer.
Bake for a total of 40 minutes; removing pan after 20 minutes, flipping nuts over with a spatula and rearranging pecans into a single layer before returning to oven for last 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and slide parchment paper with nuts still on it onto cooling rack. Cool completely, break apart, and transfer to airtight container; store at room temperature.
Cook’s Note: For a vegan version, substitute 6 tablespoons of maple syrup for the egg white, and decrease the sugars to rounded quarter cups.
Photo by Alison Penn
