Quick and Lovely Candied Pecans

Nuts are plentiful in grocery stores around this time of year. They are good for our health and contain high levels of antioxidants and omega-6 fatty acids. The science of Ayurveda also says that nuts warm our body from the inside and that’s exactly what we need during the long cold winter months.

So I end up usually with jars of nuts on the kitchen counter so that the kids can reach for a handful whenever they want. Pecans, in particular, are one of our favourites. They are high in protein and fibre, phosphorus, and manganese.

Pecans also make lovely homemade hostess gifts, especially when you coat them in mellow sugar, right?! I have a recipe that’s quick and delicious and takes less time to pull together than it takes to browse for a bottle of wine. So here goes.

Quick and Lovely Candied Pecans 

Time required – 15 mins. I did say quick, didn’t I?

You will need:

Nuts – 2 cups
Sugar – 4 tbsp
Water – 6 tbsp
Oil – just a little for the pan

Steps:

1. Roast the nuts for a few minutes in a large non-stick pan. I say large because you need the space to help them crisp up a little. Toss them till you can smell the nutty aroma.
2. While that’s going on, dissolve the sugar in the water and keep it ready.
3. Pour the liquid in the pan once the roasting is done and toss to coat. Keep the heat on for another few minutes but the nuts need to keep moving at this point so the sugar doesn’t burn.
4. Take it off the heat and let cool completely. Spread them out on a parchment paper to speed up the process.
5. Transfer them to pretty jars for gifting. These make excellent homemade hostess gifts.

Kitchen Tips

Cashews and almonds will work in this recipe too. Almonds will need to be roasted a tad longer.

My mom used to make sugared walnuts all the time but she used white sugar to get that pretty, pale glaze. I prefer the taste and the colour of brown sugar. You can use whichever one you have on hand.

I looked high and low for jars – I knew what I wanted, fairly wide mouth, washable and reusable. Surprisingly I found them at the local Discount store and I’ve bought extra to last me through many more months of entertaining.

I washed the jars out before use and since I didn’t have the patience to wait till they dried out, I popped them in the oven for a quick dry. It worked like a charm and all they needed was a wipe.

Candied pecans make a lovely hostess gift, counter snack or even as a topping on yoghurt.

How would you use these delicious treats?

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