Spiced Candied Pecans

Name: Spiced Candied Pecans
Yield: makes 4 cups (400 g)
Ingredients: 1 large egg white; 1/2 cup (120 g) packed light brown sugar; 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon cayenne or pure chile powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 4 cups (14 ounces/400 g) pecan halves

December 9, 2011

If there’s an easier candy out there, I haven’t found it. When I worked as a pastry chef, I think I made a batch of these every day. And since they’re so easy, why not? (Actually, I pretty much had to since I discovered all the other cooks in the kitchen couldn’t resist dipping into the container when I wasn’t looking.) Great nibbled on their own, these nuts are also good used in place of the toasted nuts in Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 188) and Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies (page 196), or in place of the almonds in Pistachio, Almond, and Cherry Bark (page 223). They can be chopped and folded into just-churned ice cream, or sprinkled on top of scoops of ice cream that are sauced with a ladleful of warm Rich Caramel Sauce (page 241).

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