A New Treat: Candied Pecans

I am not a "nut" lover.  In fact, most of the time I avoid anything with nuts on it or I pick off the nuts.  Some nuts, like peanuts and almonds, I do enjoy, but for the most part, nuts are not a favorite food.  So, when  nice couple at our church gave me a huge bag of pecans, I had no idea what I was going to do with them.  So, I started looking for recipes that used them and I came across a recipe from a couple years ago that a lady had given us at our former church.  She had given us a small bag of candied pecans, but I could not remember what they tasted like or whether or not I liked them.  The recipe looked simple, so I decided I would give them a try.  Well, not only were they very tasty, but I decided to make another batch because I liked them so much.  And, what's even better is that my husband liked them too!  So, with much thanks to Coco Briggs, I would like to share a new, easy, delicious recipe: Candied Pecans.

Candied Pecans Recipe:

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon combination of water and/or vanilla, to taste

1 pound pecan halves (or almonds or walnuts)

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste*

1. Grease a large baking sheet.  Set oven to 250 degrees F.

2. Whip egg whites and 1 tablespoon of water/vanilla combination until frothy.

3. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

4. Add pecans to egg mixture, stirring to coat well.

5. Stir pecans into sugar mixture and toss to coat pecans. (This is most easily done by shaking the sugar and nuts in a gallon ziplock bag).

6. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and bake 1 hour at 250 degrees F, stirring every 15 minutes.  After baking, stir and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

These are so yummy by themselves or they could be added to salads.

On the top of the recipe card, she says, "No one can eat just one" and I agree that it is quite true!