Quick Candied Pecans
Servings: 2 cups
Cost: $10
Salty, sweet, and super simple to make, these candied pecans are perfect as a topping for salads, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, or plain as a snack.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- Sauce pan or small pot
- Spoon or rubber spatula
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice and/or zest optional, see notes
- 2 cups pecan halves or chopped pecans about 6 ounces
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cayenne, vanilla, water, and the lemon juice or zest (optional) to a saucepan or small pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the brown sugar dissolves into a bubbling sauce or about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low.
- Stir in the pecans so that the brown sugar sauce coats them. Cook, stirring the entire time, until the pecans look candied and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful to keep watch as the nuts cook so that they do not burn.
- Transfer the candied pecans to the prepared baking sheet and spread them into one layer. Allow the pecans to cool down, and then break them up before serving.
- Store the cooled candied nuts in an airtight container. They will last at room temperature for one week, in the refrigerator for a few weeks and in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
- ½ teaspoon salt (from the recipe) results in a salty-sweet taste. If you don’t want to taste the salt, reduce to ¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- Lemon zest and juice are interchangeable in this recipe. You could also use orange zest and/or orange zest. Also, the citrus can be left out completely, but it does add a fresh note to the final candied pecan