Pecans. I have an abundance of them. I made Maple Apple Pecan Granola with Dried Cranberries for the holidays this year and somehow ended up with LOTS of extra pecans. Something had to be done.
Sweet tooth, meet pecans.
I had been wanting to perfect glazed nuts for some time (ever since my colleague, Georgia, made me some sweet and spicy walnuts!), so this seemed like the opportunity to go forth and glaze. As I happened to have plenty of maple syrup in the fridge (also from the aforementioned Maple Apple Pecan Granola), I decided to use that as the sweetening base for my pecans. So here is what I did.
Spicy Maple Glazed Pecans
makes 3 cups
3 cups pecan halves
6 Tbsp maple syrup
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Spread the pecan halves evenly on a sheet pan, making sure that they are distributed in one layer.
3. Roast the pecans for 5 minutes.
4. While the pecans are roasting, combine all of the other ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to ensure that they are fully incorporated.
5. When the pecans are ready, add them to the bowl and stir to coat the pecans with the glaze.
6. Put parchment paper or a silpat liner on the sheet pan and spread the glazed pecans out, again making sure that they are distributed in one layer.
7. Pop the pecans back in the oven for 10 more minutes, stirring once halfway through.
8. Remove the pecans from the oven and use a fork to move the pecans from the sheet pan to another sheet of parchment (or another silpat liner) to cool. They will be sticky!
Note: It does take a while for the glaze to set. You will know they are ready when the glaze is no longer glossy.
SLAM'n Kitchen 