Candied Pecans are sweet, crunchy, and covered in delicious cinnamon sugar mixture! Made with simple ingredients, these candied nuts are a great topping for salads, ice cream, yogurt, or mashed sweet potatoes! Use walnut or almonds instead, or add an extra dash of vanilla extract or a pinch of cayenne pepper for more flavor. Store pecans in an airtight container, in a single layer, for up to two weeks!
Best Candied Pecans Recipe
The holiday season is quickly approaching! And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about you from years past, it’s that you LOVE gift worthy Christmas candy recipes! And these candied coated pecans are JUST that.
They can be gifted, used on a Christmas charcuterie board, or snacked on during this bustling season. I even sprinkle them on top of desserts like pumpkin cheesecake. My candied almonds are good for this, too.
If you love those fancy candied nut they sell at the mall, try this candied nuts recipe right away. Making candied pecans is so easy, and they taste incredible. Oh, and making them at home is way cheaper and you’ll get way more bang for your buck. You can even freeze them!
Why This Candied Pecans Recipe is Best
- Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg make the brown sugar mixture cozy and bursting with flavor! You can use this mixture to coat any kind of nuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc!
- After baking, the candied nuts are super crunchy and stay that way for weeks on end! Because soggy candied pecans are so sad
- Made with basic pantry staples like pecan halves, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and salt. For a fun sweet and spicy twist, try adding a pinch of cayenne. I do a 1/8 teaspoon in mine and it’s delightful!
- The egg white mixture using a splash of vanilla and bourbon. If you don’t have bourbon, use water… but bourbon adds FLAVOR, and makes these candied pecans even more festive.
- This candied pecans recipe is a great holiday gift! Put them in decorative mason jars or holiday cookie tins!
- Or use these candied pecans as a topping for salads! Candied nuts on salad is so underrated… I can’t suggest trying it enough! Also, delish on sweet potatoes!
Recipe for Candied Pecans: Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- The cinnamon sugar mixture uses two sugars: granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
- Although I love using brown sugar, I don’t use all brown sugar because it contains more moisture than granulated sugar. Too much moisture will create soggy candied nuts.
- The spices in our sugar mixture are ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.
- For a spicy kick, feel free to add a tiny dash of cayenne pepper. 1/8 teaspoon will add a subtle kick while a 1/4 teaspoon will add medium heat. I like adding this when I’m making candied pecans as a topping for salads.
- This recipe also uses salt to help balance sweetness and enhance the flavor of the spices.
Egg Whites are a Must for Candied Nuts
- Unfortunately I cannot suggest how to make this recipe without egg whites!
- Egg white is the binder that helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the nuts.
- Make sure to beat the egg white mixture until super frothy.
How to Make Candied Pecans
- The Prep: Preheat your oven 30 minutes before baking. Add butter onto a baking sheet and melt in the oven. Reduce oven to 250 degrees. Note: Don’t line your baking sheet with parchment paper!
- Make the Pecan Mixture: Whisk the egg white and vanilla and bourbon until it’s super frothy! Add in the pecans and toss to coat. Then toss in your cinnamon sugar mixture and toss until well combined.
- Bake the Candied Pecans: Spread the pecans on the sheet and bake for 1 hour. Cook, stirring, the pecans every 15 minutes!
- Cool the Candied Pecans: Cool completely on the baking sheet before serving! They’ll become even more crunchy once they’re at room temperature.
If you prefer a sweet and spicy treat, check out my sweet & spicy mixed nuts! Jump to the recipe below for the full instructions!
Can I Double this Candied Pecans Recipe?
- Absolutely! To be honest, you can even triple this candied pecans recipe.
- Just double (or triple) the ingredients as needed.
- And make sure to use a very large baking sheet, because you want the pecans well spread out so they can get really crispy.
- If you don’t have a large baking sheet, bake them in batches. Crowded pecans won’t get as crispy.
How to Store Candy Pecans?
- To keep these candied pecans fresh, you’ll need to store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll keep, stored this way, for about 2 weeks.
- The airtight container can be a simple ziplock baggie or glass or plastic container.
- But if you gift them to friends and family, may I suggest placing them in a pretty mason jar? These 8 ounce jars are pretty and make it feel like a special gift! Especially with a piece of pretty red ribbon tied around the top!
