December 11, 2010

Every year I make candied pecans to put out on Christmas morning, to have for any holiday entertaining, put in salads, and give away.  I found a great recipe about 5 or 6 years ago on allrecipes.com.  It’s actually for walnuts, but I use pecans for a reason completely unknown to me.  I don’t know why I use pecans, I like both nuts equally, so I’m not discriminating in the least.

 

Added bonus, they make the house smell like Christmas.  I just have to get them into containers quickly because little hands that live here snatch them up quickly.

Dawn’s Candied Pecans Walnuts, but really pecans.

Ingredients

• 1 pound walnut halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread nuts in a single layer over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn brown and the smell of roasting nuts fills the kitchen.
2. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage of 236 degrees F (113 degrees C). Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla immediately. .
3. Add walnuts to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. Spoon nuts onto waxed paper, and immediately separate nuts with a fork. Cool, and store in airtight containers.