My mother and grandmother made these every year during the holidays. Only sometimes did the pecans come from my grandmother's pecan tree because it did not produce pecans every year. When it did, my grandmother was famous for vigorously shaking the tree to make it rain pecans. It took us kids many late fall afternoons to gather them so my grandmother could freeze most of them in gallon-size plastic bags. Right before Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas, she would thaw a few batches and boil them for 10 minutes. Boiling them made the pecans come out of the shell in one piece. Once they cooled, us kids would sit around the kitchen table and crack, shell, and clean them by the bowl-full. Of course we popped a few in our mouths! It's a tradition I continued with my kids and grandkids. This appetizer remains a family favorite!
Recipe
Mama's Sugar Spiced Pecans
Equipment
- 1 baking pan lightly buttered
- 1 large platter
- 1 Sauce pan 2-quart
- 1 Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 lb. pecans halved
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300℉.
- Lightly butter a serving platter.
- Place the pecans on a butter-sprayed baking pans and put in the oven to toast for 10 minutes; shake frequently; remove from the oven and set aside..
- Place the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and water in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a syrup that spins a small threat when you pull the spoon from the syrup, about 5 minutes; remove the pan from the heat.
- Fold in toasted pecans and vanilla.
- Stir quickly to combine nuts and syrup.
- Quickly pour pecans on platter.
- Use a spoon to quickly and carefully separate the nuts.
- Let the nuts cool until syrup has set.
- Store in tightly closed tin or plastic container.
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