The Twelve Treats of Christmas: Sugar Spiced Pecans

Christmas is really coming up fast, isn't it? At least for me it is. I say that every year, but this year, I really mean it. I am slightly overwhelmed by all that needs to be done between now and then.

But I wouldn't change a thing about it! I love even the hecticness (yes, I know it's not a word) of the season; just the fact that I have so much more to do means that something pretty special is going on.

Like baking. One of my favorite things to do and now I have a good reason to do it! For one thing, it makes a perfect but inexpensive gift for anyone, especially teachers, neighbors, hair stylists, etc. For another, a platter of Christmas cookies is the perfect contribution to the various holiday events that go on around this time of year.

Growing up, making Christmas cookies was one of my favorite things to do with my mom and sisters. My mom had a whole list of cookies that we would make every year, and I still make some of them, but I've also expanded my repertoire. And of course, if you know me at all, you know that I always like to experiment with new recipes, so I'm constantly changing up my yearly Christmas "menu" with new additions.

This season, as I started collecting the recipes I wanted to bake, I realized that most of them centered around a "spice" theme, as in cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and the like. So for my Christmas food gifts, I'm going to make some tins filled with a variety of "Sugar and Spice" cookies and other treats, starting with Sugar Spiced Pecans.

I mixed a couple different recipes to come up with this one, and the results were quite satisfactory! In fact, I would even say delicious! I just have to make sure I don't eat them all so I have enough to give to my friends!

Sugar Spiced Pecans
4 cups pecan halves
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt

Measure out your 4 cups of pecan halves. Make sure there are no stray shells or other non-food fragments mixed in.


Beat the egg white and water with a whisk until frothy, like so:


Pour the nuts into a large bowl, and stir in the egg white mixture, making sure all the nuts are evenly coated.

Mix the sugar and spices in the original measuring cup. (Aren't those rich brown colors so pretty? I love measuring out spices!)


Pour the sugar mixture over the nuts and stir until evenly mixed. Pour the nuts into a greased cookie sheet.

Roast the nuts at 275F for about 30 minutes or so, stirring them every 10 minutes so they cook evenly. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

This was much QUICKer than I expected, although I don't know why I expected it to take longer. Actually, the longest part was sorting through the nuts because mine were fresh from my sister's friend's tree and had quite a few shell fragments and other things in them. Once I was finished with that, though, it went very quickly.

It was super EASY, too. The trickiest part is being sure to cook them long enough, but not too long. For the most part, it's a matter of preference as far as how crispy you want the nuts, but you want to be sure the egg white is cooked through, and yet you don't want them to burn either.

It was CHEAP for me because as I mentioned, I got them from my sister who lives in Florida and got them from a friend who had a pecan tree in her back yard. I only paid $2/lb for them, which was a great deal. If you don't have access to a friend with a pecan tree, try Trader Joe's. I've found they have very reasonable prices on all their nuts and dried fruits. If you don't live near Trader Joe's, try a warehouse store. Aside from that, watch the grocery ads for sales, because this time of year, nuts and other baking items go on sale frequently.

When it comes to Christmas treats, HEALTHY takes something of a backseat, but there are redeeming qualities to this recipe. Nuts are a great source of protein, as well as heart-healthy Omega3s. I actually reduced the sugar by 1/3 cup and I thought they were plenty sweet. You could try experimenting with reducing it further, or maybe just limiting how many you eat. Or do what I'm going to do and just give them all away, and let everyone else deal with the sugar!

This recipe is also very flexible. You can use the same amount of any nut, and switch out the spices to change up the flavor, just keep the egg white/water mixture to help it all stick together. You could even use canned salted roasted nuts, just be sure to eliminate the salt in the recipe.