Candied Pecans
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Rating
4.9 out of 5 stars
(91)
Ingredients
6 cups
- 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 12 ounces (about 3 to 3 1/2 cups) raw pecans halves
- 1 egg white, briefly whisked
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Preparation
Step 1
Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Mix the cinnamon sugar mixture. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt and cayenne to a small mixing bowl and whisk until evenly combined.
Step 3
Toss the pecans. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the pecans and whisked egg white and gently toss until the pecans are evenly coated. Add in the sugar mixture and gently toss until the pecans are evenly coated.
Step 4
Bake. Spread the pecans out in a single even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the nuts and give them a brief stir. Bake for 20 minutes more or until the pecans are fragrant and the sugar coating is cooked. Note that the sugar coating will continue to harden and dry once the pecans are out of the oven.
Step 5
Cool. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and let the pecans cool to room temperature. Serve and enjoy immediately, or transfer the pecans to a sealed container to store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Step 6
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Chef's notes
Use different nuts:
If pecans aren’t your favorite, you could also use this recipe to make candied walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, or whatever other candied nuts sound good. Just be sure to always begin with raw nuts and adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the size/type of nuts.
Use maple syrup:
To make more naturally-sweetened candied pecans, check out my maple candied pecans recipe.
Use less sugar:
If you would like to reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe, feel free to use 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup packed brown sugar.
Add more heat:
I almost always double the amount of cayenne in this recipe to make slightly more spicy candied pecans, which I recommend if you would like the nuts to have a more noticeable kick!
Add different herbs or spices:
Feel free to also add any other warming spices (such as cardamom, ginger, nutmeg or cloves) or some pumpkin pie spice if you would like. Or some finely chopped fresh rosemary or sage would also be delicious in there too!
