I suspect I’m a bit late in the candied nuts department. I never want to be ‘out there’ with the new fads. Who am I kidding?? Of course I do but you can’t be everywhere.
I was at Costco last week and saw a big bag of pecans for only $5.99 and I couldn’t resist. I figured that even if they weren’t terrific, I could eat them in the dark under the stairs. First I tried cinnamon sugar candied pecans and they were outstanding.
My friend Carol isn’t fond of sweets so when she said, “What are you eating???” with a very quizzical ‘where’s mine’ look, I told her they were cinnamon sugar candied nuts and she said no thanks. More for me I thought!
Then she leaned over and grabbed a couple and said, “These are really good, are there any more?” I told her they were in the kitchen and off she trotted to get a bowl full of nuts. Definitely less for me.
I would show you pictures of the first try on the candied nuts but sadly, we ate ’em all!
Today I was in the refrigerator looking for something and I saw the maple syrup staring back at me and thought I might try pecans with a buttery maple glaze. These are even better than the cinnamon sugar nuts!
When I was young, my parents were in a church group where they’d meet at each other’s houses once a month and when the religious discussions were over (they never took very long) the hostess would try to outdo all the other women. They would have all denied it but I watched from the staircase every time, on my belly, facing down the stairs and peeking through the balustrade and into the living room.
Mom would make home roasted nuts and one of the men in the group would always sit right by the bowl of nuts. One day just before the guests arrived I moved the bowl of nuts to the other side of the room. I decided this guy wasn’t going to eat all of MY nuts *again*. Do you remember doing silly things like this? As I was peeking down the stairs, he asked to swap with another guest because he needed a sturdier back on his chair. It was also next to the dish of nuts! Nuts all gone again.
I’m pretty sure that if I put these maple glazed candied pecans out, people would do musical chairs just to get to sit next to the bowl. They’re that good. I gave them a grind of pink salt when they came out of the oven and I liked them even better.
- 2 cups shelled pecan halves
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup (it would be an insult to the good nuts to use fake maple syrup)
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F
- Place a small pan on medium heat and add the butter, sugar and maple syrup.
- Stir until it comes to a boil and then toss in the nuts.
- Keep cooking for another 3 minutes or so and then pour the nuts on a baking sheet covered with baking paper or a silpat (I used the paper)
- Separate the nuts into a single layer and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes. At the 5½ minute mark I stirred the nuts and made sure they were in a single layer and baked for another 2½ minutes.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool. They'll be dry, sweet and mapley and perfect for guests or for yourself.
I am sure that you are right and that they would disappear in minutes. How I would like to be a fly on the wall and go back and meet that feisty little Maureen x
Many years ago we had a Thanksgiving favorite of carrots with candied pecans (the pecan recipe was virtually the same as yours). Over time we slowly reduced the amount of carrots and increased the pecans. Eventually we decided to skip the carrots entirely. So now this is a Thanksgiving regular on our (extended) family table.
Yummo! These pictures are making my mouth water!
Yum!! Nuts are one of my favorite on-the-go snacks. The pictures look divine. Thanks, Maureen!
YUM! These looks delicious Maureen! I agree that you would need to make this with good maple syrup… I can see these being made for our next movie night!! It will probably be favoured over pop corn too 🙂
I am late in the candied nuts department too !
I really need to change that! I love cinnamon sugar but the maple glaze sounds like an amazing idea
Wow, these look and sound incredible! My husband and I love to take little snacks like this with us when we go hiking or canoeing – this would be a perfect quick energy booster!
I know I’d be the guest sitting right next to the bowl of the nuts if they were served somewhere especially, with the sprinkle of salt on top.
I’ve been nostalgic for the old fashioned home made Cracker Jack popcorn for some time now. If not for the mess in the roasting pan where the popcorn was baked … and the lack of popcorn in the house, I’d make a batch today as it’s gray and miserable outside. Again.
I totally agree, the nuts would not be done justice if we used fake syrup to make this! Annnddd… I JUST bought a nice fresh container of real maple syrup last week! It had been bothering me ever since I used the fake stuff to make my Maple Waffle Chicken Nuggets… I feel much better now. And these nuts have me hungry!!
Printing this for my holiday boxes Maureen. SO funny about the man changing chairs – he had to work hard to come up with a straight back chair excuse!
This looks so good Maureen ! I have to try it!
Oh, Maureen I go crazy eating nuts. And these a definitely a meal. Making these next week!
These look delicious! I make candied nuts (whatever is in the pantry but pecans are my fav) in the same pan after making pancakes. They really fancy up plain old pikelets on a Sunday morning. 🙂
These would easily become my new favorite snack. The hard part would be stopping!
These look so addictive!
Costco is evil. I go to save money and end up spending way more than intended on things I DON’T need!! Yours was a wise purchase though. 🙂
I find that if I come home and break everything down into vacuum sealed bags and jars and pop them in the pantry or freezer, I do save money. I’m getting better at saying no to things I don’t REALLY need – like American treats.
PS Where is your tweet button?? I wanna tell the world about these!! 🙂
Oh dear… did tweety fall off? I must have had a plugin that didn’t make it through the upgrade. 🙂 I’ll get techoman on the job.
Fake maple syrup is an insult all round. I think you got a bargain with those pecans. Your parents’ house church meetings sound fabulous. We go to house church and yes, a lot of it is about the food but of course, we don’t ever try to outdo each other! xx
What are you talking about? You’re never too late for candied pecans, especially maple glazed candied pecans. They look incredible!
They were – are!
Goddamnit the second picture! Goosebumps all over!! Sadly I tend to stay away from Pecans due to their face-value … a little too pricy for middle-class me. Now I’m dashing off to Costco 🙂
Thanks for the orgasmic Pecan-pretty idea 🙂
Mind. Blown. Totally.
<3
Mind totally blown! The second picture took my breath away … it choked me…left me nuts!
Thank you for the insanely great Pecan-idea.
Hugs. Love. Peace. Pecans <3
Oh my, I need this in my life, looks too good! 😀
What a deal on the nuts! Such a great snack. I love them in salads too!
I would love to have a handful of those right now- I love how the maple has cooked on the nuts- yum. This will be something I can put together in no time 🙂
I can just picture you watching the grown ups from the staircase. Sounds like something on TV. Lovely recipe Maureen. I have one similar. As for Costco, the less we purchase, the better! : )
Yup, I’d definitely play musical chairs just to sit next to these! I love glazed nuts, both spicy and sweet ones. And I used to peer down our staircase when I was a kid too!
I want these in my belly! Maple glazed anything is amazing. 🙂
I am glad I am reading this from afar Maureen as I honestly don’t think I could stop eating these are they are wcikedly too addictive in a great sort of way!
OMG what’s not to love about these. I’d be putting them on everything! Of course, I’d probably actually eat them by the handful. These sound heavenly!!!
Okay, so now I’m taking up musical chairs as a weekly activity :)) xx
Mmmm – these look dangerously moreish – Maureen:-)
I adore candied nuts too! Especially pecans and walnuts. 🙂 These look marvelous, and I love the story of your foiled nut saving escapades. 🙂
Candied pecans are the best, I jus glove that maple glaze!
These pecans look absolutely addictive, I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oooh yes I’ve made these with walnuts. I made them for Christmas gifts one year and kept having to re-make them cause I kept eating them!
I love you. This is the type of snack I cannot stop eating (and why would I want to?)
Haha – sounds like your younger self was just as funny as your young self is now! I couldn’t help chuckling at you playing musical nuts and that chap playing musical chairs – all for some NUTS! But – I see these are not just any nuts! I think I’d be going nuts over these NUTS myself – though, my younger self might not just have moved the dish, my younger self might have taken it to the bathroom and eaten it all in the dark! 🙂
Oh my Dear God ! This just reminded me of what candy was for us as kinds. A bunch of walnuts that we would throw in some hot burnt sugar and the cooled. Looking at those pics literally made me taste them. What a treat! And i’ve never seen that pecan deal at Costco, ever! I must go investigate!
These look amazing!
Ohhhh! HOW I love candied pecans. Whole Foods here sells a candied pecan pie….heaven. I am salivating!
Oh Maureen! These look so good! I think if I make these I would have to hide them, both from the kids and myself!!!!!
Pinning for when I need a treat!
Pecans? Maple syrup ? Oh yummo.
oh yum oh yum pecans! maple syrup YUM
Too funny – swapping chairs for the nuts? He was on to a good thing, there! Love it. I keep meaning to make candied nuts so will have to try them. They look fabulous, Maureen. I’d be scared to eat the whole lot though and lose my nutty self-control – and of course, serve it with a lovely glass of wine ….
I tried to comment twice on your Pina Colada post and they disappear.
I will make these candied pecans as soon as I get home. I stiil have some nuts from Costco in the freezer.
I’m not sure why but that other comment got caught by the spam filter. My apologies!
These are amazing to garnish a salad, of course, you’d have to have some leftover first. Hard to stop eating, for sure. YUM!
Your candied nuts turned out perfectly! I love how simple the recipe is too. I’m a little afraid to make these, Maureen. They look just a little TOO good.
I would definitely be the person from who you would have to move these nuts. Any kind of sugared pecans are hard to stop eating, but these…exceptional! I can hear and feel the crunch of that maple glaze. So good!
Your story smacks of Southern charm and childhood delights…And it is pretty nutty what people will do (including me!) to make their tummies happy!
Applause, applause, Maureen for using your resources so creatively =)
This looks like perfection!
Wow! They really look yummy. Believe or not, I don’t usually see these in the supermarket and the imported ones are super expensive. I would love to try this soon. It seems quite easy to make. Your photos are stunning 🙂
Hi Maureen! These look delicious! Living here in the south I would add some bacon, after all everything is better with bacon! 🙂
My goodness–has even one of these commenters actually made these? Well I HAVE. And I can tell you your recipe is one hair short of perfection! Every one of your ingredients is perfectly proportioned–it kind of made me nauseated to see how many recipes call for 1/3 or 1/2 cup (Martha! You are GUILTY!) of maple syrup. There must be so much waste.
Your cooking times and temperatures are spot-on. Stirring the nuts after 5.5 minutes, and then baking for exactly 2.5 more really gets the syrup baked on. And at 350 degrees, there’s no burning.
So where’s the hair short of perfection? I added 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp organic cinnamon. Now THAT’s perfection!
Thank you so much for the easiest, best glazed nut recipe on the web! And I should know–I actually used it! Can I tell you it’s just as luscious with walnuts? ;^)
wow, thanks! I love your additions!
Maple and pecans! Two of my favorite flavors together without a doubt! ?
I am recovering from hip replacement surgery (Monday) and I am going to muster all the southern charm I can to get someone to make these for me while I wile away the hours this week!
I have the all the ingredients in my pantry!
Yes!!! I gave it a five cause I know with these ingredients they are going to be sublime.????
I tried to do 5 stars but it wouldn’t let me. ?
I used golden monk fruit instead of brown sugar and half cashews and half walnuts. Delicious!