Sugar Coated Pecans Recipe

When I was growing up, school and church fundraisers usually involved door-to-door sales of candy bars. These days, at least here in the South, times have apparently changed. When fall fundraising rolls around, it’s not always chocolate on the other side of the door. It’s pecans. Shelled and sold by the sackful, it’s a clever change of strategy. Pecans are a staple of baking and cooking from the moment the first leaf hits the ground until the last holiday cookie has been eaten.

The familiar nut is popping up at farmers' markets, roadside stands and passed along by friends with enough land to support the large nut (and shade) trees and the patience to tend to them.

The crunchy, buttery and extremely versatile pecan will find its way into pies, cookies, candies, quick breads, stuffings and even soups each winter. But one of my favorite pecan recipes is deceptively simple.

Coated with egg white and tossed with cinnamon and sugar, the warm and woody taste of pecans is roasted to perfection in a sweet, crunchy shell. Quick and easy to make, they can be used to garnish seasonal desserts or eaten all by themselves. When the holidays hit, these simple delights can be packed into decorative jars for gift giving, but the season is young. The first batch is all yours.

Sugar Coated Pecans

• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk egg white, water and vanilla together until frothy.

Stir pecans into egg whites to fully coat.

Combine sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large Ziploc bag.

Transfer pecans to Ziploc and shake to coat pecans with dry mix.

Spread pecans out on a greased baking sheet bake in a 250 degree oven for 50 minutes, stirring once after 25 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.