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Sweater weather is here. Even in Arizona, we get enough of a chill to break out sweaters and scarves, clutch hot coffee closely and snuggle deeper into our beds. I love this time of year and all the tasty goodies it brings with it.
After spending Thanksgiving stuffing myself with food, wine and pastries galore, I need something sweet to accompany my morning coffee that won’t slather more holiday pounds onto my lovely hips. Enter cinnamon pecans.
Commonly seen in little paper cones that you eat at the hockey games. The warmth and sweetness from the cinnamon and a little nip of bourbon are the perfect compliment to a cup of coffee, or a Guinness, if you are in a cold arena. These are great to bag-up and give to loved ones for the holidays or as a host/hostess gift. If you have a fireplace, please enjoy these in front of a crackling fire for me.
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Cinnamon Bourbon Pecans
Ingredients:
3 ea. Egg Whites
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 tsp. Bourbon or Whiskey
1 tsp. Water
1 # Pecan Halves, Raw
1 cup Granulated Sugar
4 tsp. Cinnamon, Ground
1 tsp. Fine Sea SaltDirections:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. In one bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, cinnamon and fine sea salt. In another bowl, with another whisk, whisk egg whites, vanilla extract, water, and bourbon or whiskey until frothy. Add the 1 # of pecan halves to the egg white mixture, and coat all the pecans throughly. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the coated pecan halves, tapping out excess liquid, and adding them a spoonful at a time to the sugar mixture. You can coat all the pecans at one time, but to keep excess liquid out of the sugar mixture, scooping with a slotted spoon works best. Once they have been added to the sugar mixture, stir and coat them all.
Place the coated pecans onto a greased sheet pan. Bake the pecans for about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Stir the pecans every 10-15 minutes (about 4-5 times during the baking). Once your pecans are done baking, allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a clean, cool sheet pan to continue cooling throughly. Wash your sheet pan immediately, as it will be coated with baked sugar, so best to clean while still warm. Store in a sealed container.
