Maple & Sea Salt Pecans

I am way, way overdue in posting this but I wanted to share a recipe/tutorial from something I made for Christmas.  (Yes, Christmas – you should see how far back my “to be blogged” folder goes.  Oye.)  Anyways, I wanted to make a food gift to give to the wonderful people at my puppy dog’s daycare who love on him oh so much.  And then recipe turned out to be so good I gave a batch to my father-in-law and I think maybe my brother too.  I lost track of who I gave it to – it was nuts.

Get it?  Nuts?

Okay, sorry.  Onwards!  This was a big hit, and if you want something different from cookies or other sweets to give at the holidays, I’d highly suggest this.

Or to just make for your own eating pleasure. 

The recipe came from Food & Wine magazine.  Here’s the original link but I’ll post directions here too.

Ingredients

• 4 cups pecans
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg white, at room temperature

The How To:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the pecans on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast until they are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let the pecans cool. Lower the oven temperature to 250°.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the pecans with the maple syrup, butter, salt, cayenne and black pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the egg white to the pecans and toss well.
• Spread the pecans on the lined baking sheets in a single layer. Bake for 40 minutes, until the nuts are golden brown. Immediately loosen the pecans from the paper with a spatula. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving.

They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week – if you can resist them that long.

(Glass jars from IKEA)