Candied Pecans

I am not sure if you know this, but I am a big salad fan. I guess it started from growing up with a family that liked it as well- my memories of childhood are that we ate salad at almost every meal (whether we really did or not, we definitely had  a lot of them). I now make salad with almost every dinner. I love creating different salad combinations as the possibilities are endless: you can use different lettuces. veggies, fruit, toppings and/or dressings to change up the flavors- salad doesn’t have to be boring! These candied pecans are on of my favorite treats to make my salads extra-special.

Plus, nuts are so good for you. Yes, they add more fat and calories to your salads, but they full of the heart-healthy fats and tons of nutrients (thiamine, phosphorous, zinc, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper and Vitamin E). In fact, the Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture suggest eating 4 to 5 servings of nuts a week. Studies have suggested that eating pecans and other nuts may lower LDL cholesterol which in turn may lower your risk for heart disease.

Pecans are a rich source in oleic acid, which is the same kind of healthy fat that is found in olive oil. Even though some people view nuts as “fattening” studies have actually shown that people that eat them regularly have lower body fat. Although these are tossed with a sugar, the small amount you need for a side salad won’t be an issue. A few sweet nuts go a long way! Trust me, they are satisfying and will really make you want to eat more salad.

When we left Hawaii I had about 4 packages of unopened nuts and I was not about to leave those behind so I packed them in my suitcase and they made it to Missouri. I have a few things on my “to make” list using the nuts: walnut pesto, granola and candied nuts for salads.

Here is the simple process to make those restaurant-style nuts to jazz up your next salad. You will see this recipe resurface during the Holiday season because they make the perfect gift- plus the spices are perfect to compliment those Holiday dishes!

Here is what you do. Beat the egg white with some water.

Toss pecans into frothy egg mixture

Toss into bowl of sugar and spices

Pour onto parchment lined cookie sheet

Spread pecans into an even layer on cookie sheet and pop them in the oven.

After they come out of the oven- nice and crispy

Beautiful, tasty little things- great for a snack, for a gift or for your salads!

YUM!

Candied Pecans

 

Print

Author: Melanie F. | Nutritious Eats

Recipe type: Salad Topper

Ingredients

• 1-16oz bag of pecan halves
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tablespoon water
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 dash of vanilla
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

1. DIRECTIONS:
2. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg white with water until frothy. In another large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (cinnamon through salt). Stir well and set aside. Stir pecans into egg mixture and toss to coat. Transfer pecans from egg mixture to the bowl with the sugar mixture. Toss again to coat.
4. Pour pecans onto baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly brown. Once cooled, remove from baking sheet and store in an air-tight container (glass jars or tins work well).

Notes

If you have a powerful oven you might want to decrease temp to 275 degrees. You'll know when they are done, they'll lose the wet/shiny look and be nicely browned with a dry crunchy coating.

3.2.2925