Description
I bet you thought these were way harder to make, huh?
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb pecan halves, raw or roasted
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 2 large egg whites (4 tbsp liquid egg whites)
- 1 C light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Add the stick of butter to a 10-12″ cast-iron skillet and place the skillet into the oven. Leave it there while you prepare the pecans.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the egg whites, water, and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until the whites are foamy. A hand mixer might make this easier to accomplish.
- Next, add in the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and whisk until combined. A thick, syrupy batter of sorts should form.
- Add your pecans to the bowl and stir to coat thoroughly. Make sure everything is evenly distributed and each pecan is coated.
- Remove your cast iron skillet from the oven once the butter is melted. Pour your coated pecans into the skillet. Gently toss them to incorporate the butter, then and spread them out into an even layer. Return the cast-iron skillet to the oven.
- Bake the pecans for 45 minutes, removing every 15 minutes to gently stir and turn the pecans so they cook evenly. They will be sticky and kind of wet for most of this time, only really becoming hardened once they cool, but you’ll notice the amount of moisture will reduce toward the end of baking.
- After 45 minutes, remove them from the oven and give them one last through stir, then let them rest. You can remove the pecans to a baking sheet to cool faster if you like. Stir them every 10 minutes or so to avoid them clumping together, or you can just break them apart with a spatula or your hands later. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Dassit!
Notes
- I’ve candied pecans, almonds, baru nuts, walnuts, and peanuts. Sky is the limit with this recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
