Description
These homemade candied pecans are sweet, warmly spiced, and perfectly crunchy. Made with just 5 simple ingredients plus water and baked (not stovetop), they’re easy to prepare and ideal for snacking, salads, charcuterie boards, and holiday gifting.
Ingredients
- 6 cups (about 660g) pecan halves, unsalted
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (30g/ml) water
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and lightly grease with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and water on medium-high speed until foamy and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and fold with a silicone spatula until combined.
- Add the pecans and stir to coat completely. Spread the nuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Halfway through baking, rotate the baking sheets and swap their positions in the oven.
- Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. The sugar coating will continue to crisp up as it cools.
- Store pecans in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Smaller or Larger Batch: This recipe easily scales up or down. Simply halve or double all of the ingredients as needed. Whipping the egg whites and water will take slightly less or more time depending on the batch size. The oven temperature and bake time remain the same—just be sure to spread the nuts into a single layer on greased, lined baking sheets.
- Using Different Nuts: Yes! This recipe works with many types of nuts, but pecans are my favorite because the cinnamon-sugar coating gets caught in all their little crinkles. A smooth nut doesn’t “catch” as much coating as a pecan does. That said, feel free to replace up to half of the pecans with another nut if you’d like. Almonds, cashews, or macadamias all work well. Just be sure pecans remain the primary nut for best texture.