And then there is the pecan pie recipe I have been wanting to try for awhile now. Or maybe I could just never remember if I had pecans each time I went to Costco or Sam's Club and so I just threw another bag in the cart. Whatever the reason or reasons, I thought it was time to put some of those bags of pecans to good use (god-forbid I let them expire) and make a batch of the Cinnamon Glazed Pecans. The pecan pie recipe will just have to wait.
Yes, this is the second nut recipe I am posting on the blog in less than a month. You must be thinking 'what's up with the nuts?' Not sure I have a good answer for that question, however, with a relative high degree of certainty please know there will be some savory and spicy recipes with nuts as the main ingredient posted on saltedsugaredspiced in the months ahead.
The first time I tasted a cinnamon glazed pecan was when a very talented baker brought them to work. They were devoured within a couple of hours of being put out on the table, one strong indicator that they were well received. Recipes for baked nuts had previously not been on my radar but after I tasted those nuts, I realized I had never seen a recipe for them. This would have been in the days before online versions of food magazines, FoodNetwork recipes, foodblogs, and the proliferation of recipe postings on the internet were readily available. I received her recipe the old-fashioned way, written on a piece of paper.
With a new found interest in cinnamon glazed pecans, I have since discovered a few more recipes along the way. My favorite recipe version at the moment is one found in a Nordstrom cookbook. This recipe could not be easier or more simple. Pecans, egg whites, sugar, and cinnamon. More on the cinnamon in a bit. Baked in the oven on a relatively low temperature, these nuts are transformed into an addictive little treat.
The egg white and water are whisked until foamy and no liquid remains. You will find that a room temperature egg combined with water can attain a pretty good volume of foam. There is no need to pull out a mixer, you can do this with a whisk. Even my whimpy mixing arm can get the egg whites to the perfect foamy texture. But feel free to pull out the mixer if you are not up for the whisking challenge. The pecans are then added to the whisked egg mixture.
All cinnamons are not created equal. My hands down favorite is often marketed as Saigon cinnamon (also known as Vietnamese cinnamon). Vietnamese cinnamon is generally sweeter so it can be eaten like candy and its spiciness is often judged to be full-bodied without a hint of bitterness. If you have yet to use this cinnamon in your baking and/or cooking, you just might want to try it, so you too can experience the difference. The sugar, salt and cinnamon are mixed together and added to the pecan mixture.
For the best results when baking, I always bake nuts in the top third of the oven in order to get that beautiful dark brown coloring. There have been times when I haven't paid attention, threw the pan in the oven and was disappointed with the outcome. There is nothing worse that having to throw out a pound of baked nuts. Okay, yes there are worse things.
Cinnamon Glazed Pecans (slight adaptation of the pecan recipe appearing in the Nordstrom Entertaining at Home Cookbook)
Ingredients
1 pound of pecans
1 large egg white (room temperature if possible, but not a deal breaker)
1 Tablespoon water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of ground Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees (F)
2. Whisk together egg white and water until the mixture is foamy and no liquid remains. Add pecans and toss to ensure all pecans are coated.
3. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and salt.
4. Add the sugar mixture to the egg white covered pecans stirring to ensure all pecans are covered.
5. Scatter pecans on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and put in top third of the oven.
6. Bake pecans for approximately one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Pecans will be a dark brown and nicely glazed when finished.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Or spread on a platter and serve warm.
8. If allowed to cool, store in a covered container or put in cellphone bags tied with ribbon.
This blog is now officially one month old, not yet anniversary or birthday celebration worthy, but a milestone worth noting. Since its launching saltedsugaredspiced has had more than 500 viewings. I am thrilled, I think. Because I really don't know whether this is a thrill worthy number or not as I have no basis of comparison. It could be there are just ten of you out there who have looked at this blog fifty times or maybe there were a hundred of you who each looked at it five times. Whatever the real number of viewers or return visitors actually is may not really matter. The number itself is inspiring enough for me to keep going on this journey of sharing my passion for baking and cooking.
Have you ever been simultaneously energized and overwhelmed when you are learning something new? I am at that place and feeling a little off-balance at the moment or I should say a little more off-balance than normal. But not to worry as I have decided to look at this blogging world adventure as a marathon and not a sprint. Being someone who really has never really adapted to the concept of 'pacing oneself', much to the chagrin of a few, I am focusing on the many unintended benefits of this new experience. Where this blog goes, I really don't know, although there is one thing for certain. I genuinely believe the possibilities are endless.
Lastly, I have a confession to make. For those of you who have looked at the blog more than once, you may sometimes notice I do some post publishing editing. Sometimes I get a post publishing epiphany and sometimes I see some glaring errors. As much as I try to proof the writing, I am a little too close to it at times to catch all of the missing words and/or grammatical errors. So to those of you who wanted me to know there were some tweaks to be made, particularly the ones I had missed, I thank you for your supportive eye, for your encouragement.
