These will be crisp, glossy, sweet, lightly spiced — the true fairground texture. Pecans have a lot of nutritional benefits and healthy fats which you can read about HERE.
Ingredients for the candied pecans
2 large egg whites
1 TBSP water
1 cup white sugar (you can substitute half with light brown sugar for deeper flavor). This amount of 1 cup I’m suggesting here is about ¼ cup less sweet than typical street-vendor nuts — I prefer them a little less sugary.
1 TEA cinnamon
¼ – ½ TEA salt
1/2 TEA vanilla extract
4 cups pecan halves (or almonds/cashews)
Instructions
1. Preheat
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Oven to 250°F (low temp is key).
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Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Make a frothy egg-white base
In a large bowl, beat egg whites and water until their frothy but NOT stiff peaks — about 30–45 seconds by hand or 10 seconds with a mixer.
This is what gives the nuts their signature crunchy, sandy coating. My recipe above is for a very crunchy praline candied pecan. If you don’t want it too crunchy, just use 1 egg white (not two like my recipe calls for).
3. Add your flavorings
Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon (Cassia), and salt. If you’re curious about cinnamon benefits, I wrote an article HERE.
4. Coat the nuts
Dump the pecans into the egg-white mixture and toss around.
5. Add sugar
Sprinkle the sugar over the wet nuts and stir until evenly coated.
It will look grainy — that is exactly right.
6. Bake (low & slow)
Spread the nuts in a single layer and bake at 250°F for 55–60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure even crystallization. Do not increase the temperature—high heat melts the sugar instead of crystallizing it. Rinse your spatula each time you stir, otherwise the nuts will stay sticky. By the 45-minute mark, you’ll notice they’re much drier and more crystalline compared to the first stir at 15 minutes.
The nuts are ready when:
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They look dry, sandy, and crisp
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The coating is no longer wet or sticky
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They smell toasted and sweet
7. Cool completely
They will harden and crisp fully as they cool — don’t skip this step.
NOTE: If you want a shinier finish: drizzle 1–2 tsp melted butter over the nuts after baking.
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
