Recipes · Snacks
Spiced Pecans
- Meal
- Desserts, Sweets, Snacks
- Issue
- November 2025
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika
- 1 tsp. ground cayenne
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground mace or nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 4 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 1 Tbs. honey, sorghum, or cane syrup
- 3 cups shelled raw pecan halves (about 3/4 lb.)
Method
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Combine the spices, salt, and sugar in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside one teaspoon of the blended mixture.
Melt the butter slowly over low heat in a small saucepan. After the foam subsides, turn off the heat and skim the white milk solids from the butter. Whisk the spice mixture into the butter in a slow stream. Whisk the honey into the spiced butter in a slow stream.
Put the pecans in a medium mixing bowl and pour the warm spiced syrup mixture over them. Toss the mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Spread the pecans evenly on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake on the top rack for 45 minutes. The syrup should look dry (it will still be slightly sticky), and the pecans will have darkened to the color of mahogany. Remove the sheet from the oven and sprinkle the reserved teaspoon of spice mixture over the pecans.
Serve the nuts as soon as they have cooled. Stored in an airtight container, roasted pecans will keep for two weeks.
From “Be Our Guest: Discover Tried & True Thanksgiving Recipes From Local Cookbooks.”