Cinnamon Roasted Pecans

If this simple cinnamon sugar pecans recipe is not going to do it for you and you need a little more spice, try these:

1. Add a kick of heat: Follow the recipe, but add ½ tsp (1g) cayenne pepper into the cinnamon and sugar mix.

2. Use MORE spices: In fact, make masala chai spiced pecans. Follow the recipe and use these additional spices in the sugar and spice mixture. (¾ tsp (3g) ground cardamom, ¼ tsp (.5g) ground coriander, ¼ tsp (1g) ground black pepper, 1 tsp ground cloves (3.3g), ½ tsp (1g) ground ginger.)

4. Have fun with herbs and florals: Opt out of the cinnamon and use 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped herbs in its place. Sage, rosemary, lavender, you name it! You might even add a single droplet (I am sooo serious about this measurement. It’s no joke!) of rosewater to the egg whites and vanilla before whisking.

Any way you coat it, a roasted pecan recipe should always be in the mix.

Yes! At the request of a friend, I did test this recipe with pistachios, cashews, and walnuts as well. I was worried that the nuts that weren’t craggy like pecans and walnuts would have trouble. That maybe the sugar wouldn’t stick to them as well. But every single nut was well coated and delicious. The pistachios in particular were incredible!. They went to eleven, if you catch my drift.

I know they don’t seem it, but nuts are pretty delicate. Especially when it comes to temperature. If the oven temperature is too high the oils in the pecans might hit their smoke point while roasting. When this happens, they will taste burnt. Sometimes, you can get away with a little of this, but too much ruins the whole batch. Keeping the temperature under 250℉ (121℃) lets the nuts cook longer and roast all of the way through without burning.

Make sure to cool the spiced candied pecans until they are fully at room temperature before putting them into a container. And warmth will create condensation and ruin the crunch of the roasted pecans. If you aren’t sure the nuts have cooled enough, cover the container for 30 seconds and see if any steam shows up. If so, toss the nuts around a bit and leave the lid off for a while longer. Once cooled, store roasted pecans in the air-tight container at room temperate for up to 4 weeks.

To make them last longer, freeze them in one layer on a clean, lined ½ sheet baking tray. Once the pecans are fully frozen, add them to a bag and keep them in the freezer. Defrost them in the refrigerator, so the condensation while they warm up is minimized.

Want the perfect homemade holiday gifts for family and friends, cinnamon roasted pecans will do the trick! Here are a few ideas:

1. Stay simple: toss the oven roasted pecans in a festive muslin bag or mason jar and decorate the container with a gift tag and some ribbon, et viola!

2. Make an all-in-one, charcuterie kit: This can go a few ways, depending on how in-depth you want to go with the ingredients and packaging. The simplest version of this, is a small bag of these spiced candied nuts, a mini jar of fruit preserves (fig recommended), little circle of brie, and a single sleeve of round water crackers. Nestle everything into a seasonal themed cardboard box with tissue paper or raffia. If you want to take this idea further, get a basket instead of a box and add in a bottle of sparkling wine and a small cutting board.

3. Include them in a holiday cookie/treat box: For anyone who goes all out with christmas treat boxes, these pecans are a delightful addition. Need some other treats to include? I got you! Aside from the other recipes linked below here are a few more options… Homemade, Ganache-Swirled Marshmallows, Hot Cocoa Mix, Melomakarona: Greek Honey Cookies, and Pistachio Snowball Cookies.