maple candied pecans
Years ago I shared a stove-top candied pecan recipe on Fit and Fed. I preferred that at the time because the nuts were right under my eye, so little chance of burning them. It’s still a nice quick way to make candied nuts, but by now I’ve gotten comfortable with the oven method, too. Assuming I stay attentive to the time, the results are predictable and good.
The nuts are baked at a temperature that’s close to what would burn them, so the sugar caramelizes a little and develops great flavor. I’ve tried roasting them at a slightly lower temperature but the nuts just aren’t as good. I set a timer to stir the nuts halfway through and for the end. Ovens vary (and mine has a drafty door) so watch yours, you may need to experiment a bit to get the best temperature for your oven.
After taking the nuts out of the oven, I mix them with an extra drizzle of maple syrup and the salt and demerara sugar. My aim in adding a little more maple syrup is to get all the crystallized sugar to stick to the nuts without melting the sugar.
I hope you will enjoy these. We use them a lot in dinner salads and also in a roasted sweet potato/candied pecan/cranberry salad that I hope to share in the fall.
- 2 cups pecan halves (8 oz)
- 3 Tbsp. maple syrup, plus a drizzle more (tsp?)
- ¼ tsp flaked salt
- 2 Tbsp. demerara sugar
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Mix the pecan halves with the maple syrup in a bowl.
- Place the pecan halves on a parchment-paper covered baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring the nuts around on the baking sheet halfway through.
- Remove promptly at 15 minutes to avoid burning.
- 'Pour' the hot nuts immediately off the parchment paper into a bowl.
- Drizzle the nuts with a little more maple syrup, stir, add the sugar and salt and mix together.
- I specified demerara sugar and flaked salt for the big crunchy crystals: if you don't have those, regular brown sugar and salt will suffice.
- Spread the nuts out to cool on a baking sheet covered with a fresh sheet of parchment paper.
Related Posts:
Maple Candied Pecans, the Stove-Top Method Sweet and maple-y with a touch of salt, these maple candied pecans will be ready to top your salad or dessert with less than five minutes work.
Arugula Salad with Roasted Grapes, Goat Cheese, and Candied Hazelnuts An arugula salad for summer or fall with roasted grapes, fresh mild goat cheese, and candied hazelnuts.
Cranberry Candied Pecan Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Try this ten-minute dinner salad with sweet-tart dried cranberries, crunchy candied maple pecans and raspberry vinaigrette.
Sweet Potato, Cranberry, and Pecan Gratin A sweet potato, cranberry, and pecan dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime during cranberry season.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like a great snack to take to the rink!
Eva recently posted..Whole wheat raspberry cheesecake brownies
That would be an excellent snack indeed! But would require admitting that I’m going to just nibble on them instead of using them for dinner (which does happen).
Oh yum! Pecans are my favorite and these look divine. Wonder why I never though to make my own??
Marcia recently posted..Race Report: Espirit de She Triathlon
Now you know how! Hope it saves you a little at the grocery store.
Excellent recipe. Pecans are so good and when you candy them like that, they make a salad all that much more special.
Joanne recently posted..Grandma’s Marathon 2015 Recap
Thanks Joanne!
They look delicious and, like Joanne says, these would be great on a salad.
Tina recently posted..Running in the Black Hills & Wyoming
Thanks Tina, they definitely are great on a salad, we often use them on salads!