Sweet & Spicy Party Pecans

Sweet & Spicy Party Pecans     

  Last night I threw a party—the last one in the “old “kitchen. We are remodeling it starting next week! I will be posting more about that since people do seem to be interested in seeing photos of the process. But this post, as promised to the party goers, will be to share the very simple recipe for Sweet Spiced Pecans. These crunchy little morsels of addictive goodness are so easy to make.  I think of them as Party Pecans because if you roast them you will want to eat them all up yourself, which could be too much of a good thing (and they are a good thing!!  )so,  it is best to make them for a whole party of people!  

      The National Pecan Shellers Association say that pecans provide 19 vitamins and minerals we need, they can play a role in lowering cholesterol, are a great source of antioxidants such as vitamin E and can help with brain health. Pecans can be useful in weight loss, according to the site, but let me caution that eating too many, as this recipe can cause, is still a high calorie endeavor!

     Tonight’s festivity was a Tapas Dinner Party, meaning mostly that dinner would consist of lots of small plates- basically snacks, appetizers and “finger food”.  Here is the menu for the evening:

Spanish Tortilla – eggs with potato and onion and roasted tomato topping
Artichokes with lemon and garlic butter
Spicy sausage in crust
Kalamata Olives
Peppadews  filled with goat cheese
Baked Artichoke cheese dip with crackers
Hummus with roasted red pepper and green olive with pita chips, veggies
Marinated Mushrooms
Cucumber yogurt dip with veggies
Sweet Spicy Pecans
Spicy BBQ flavored pepitas
Sangria, beer, soft drinks, lemonade, iced tea
White Chocolate bark with cherries, peaches and roasted almonds

People also brought: Potato Bollani, guacamole and chips, chicken skewers, potato rounds with salmon and cilantro , cheese and fruit with crackers,  ice cream, , brownies, cheesecake, cheese biscuits, strawberries muffins( gluten free) ,  cookies, various drinks

Many items on here are vegan, since we had gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian guests. Let me know if you want any other recipes!  I will tell you, the peppadews with goat cheese were my favorites of the evening, along with these pecans. Peppadews are little piquant, mildly sweet peppers from South America. They are so delicious filled with creamy goat cheese! So easy.

Okay back to the wonderful sweet pecans.  While I have made this often, I want to share that I most recently was reminded of it by seeing a similar recipe to mine on another blog- I like to bake and cook. M.J. posted a similar recipe for spiced pecans last fall. Go check out her blog!

Here is my version with slightly different spices and sugars-

Sweet & Spicy Party Pecans   

1 egg white slightly beaten

1 tablespoon water

1 lb. pecan halves

About 1/2 cup sugar- I use 2 TBSP brown sugar, 3 TBSP white sugar and 1 TBSP maple sugar(NOT syrup) but any combo is fine

1/2 tsp. salt

1 -1 ½  tsp. cinnamon

Other spices may be adapted to whatever you like-

¾  tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp coriander

Whisk egg whites and water in a bowl and stir in pecans until well mixed.

Mix together the sugar, salt and spices and sprinkle over pecans .Blend well until all pecans are covered with the mixture.

Preheat oven to 300. I prefer to line a baking sheet with foil. Spread pecans on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake  for about 20 minutes then stir them well and put them back for another 10 minutes, checking after 8 and leaving them in until crisp but not too browned. Let them cool a bit before serving.