I've made this recipe (adapted from Smitten Kitchen) several times:

Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts

1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (1/4 teaspoon if you are more adventurous)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 2 teaspoons the second time)
1 pound walnut or pecan halves or whole peeled hazelnuts
1 egg white, room temperature (or the equivalent in meringue powder)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix sugars, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon, making sure there are no lumps; set aside. Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add walnuts, and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

They are quite tasty and addicting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts

I've had great comments on these, which I've done both with pecans and with walnuts. (Recipe from the Harvest Forum):

Sour Cream Walnuts
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups walnuts
Cook and stir sugars and sour cream to soft ball stage (240 degrees F on candy thermometer). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add walnuts stirring gently until coated. Spread on pan to cool [no stick wax paper helps later removal]

I have the world's best recipe for spicy ones.

Enjoy!

spicy Bourbon pecans

1/2 cup good bourbon
1 lb pecan halves
1 T. corn oil
1 T. worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon angostura bitters
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
1) in small saucepan, simmer bouron over medium heat until reduced by 1/4. Blanch pecans in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain.

2) In large bowl, combine bourbon, oil, worcestershire, bitters, sugar. Add hot pecans and toss well. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3) spread pecans in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, or until they are crisp and liquid has evaporated.

4) Transfer to large clean bowl and toss with spices (as follows), about 1-1/2 teaspoon spices, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper.

Spices---Emeril's "Essence" (This makes a lot more than this recipe needs, but I use it for a lot of other things. You can just reduce the recipe proportionally, if you like)
2-1/2 T. paprika
2 T. salt
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. black pepper
1 T. onion powder
1 T. cayenne pepper
1 T. dried leaf oregano
1 T. dried thyme.

Store in airtight container.

Hints: the recipe does not seem to work with Splenda. And make sure the pecans are crisp... better slightly overdone than underdone.

I use this recipe it's great!!

.

Jerry's Sugared Pecans

Recipe adapted from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood (c) Clarkson Potter 2008
. Prep Time:10 minInactive Prep Time:15 minCook Time:30 minLevel:EasyServes:4 cups.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups pecan halves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with sides with aluminum foil. Pour the butter onto the lined sheet. In a large bowl, mix the egg whites, sugar and cinnamon. Add the pecan halves and toss until they are fully coated. Spread the pecans onto the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring the pecans every 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. They may look wet but let them cool and they harden up.

It's really good!
Linda

If you have a dehydrator, I'd suggest this recipe - which is one I make about once a month. Because the nuts are first soaked (which allows them to sprout) they are easier to digest and have more available nutrition. They are not as sticky-sweet as recipes using a sugar syrup. Because palm sugar is used, they are fairly low-glycemic. The original recipe is linked below and the one I posted are my changes. I use these in and on seemingly everything from fruit sauce to oatmeal and baked goods, as well as snacking. -Grainlady

Sweetly Spiced Crispy Pecans

4 cups raw pecans
2 teaspoons sea salt
5 tablespoons palm sugar
1 t. good quality cinnamon* (otherwise, use up to 2 t., or to taste)
Filtered water to cover pecans

Soak pecans in a large bowl with filtered water and salt for 8-12 hours. Pour off water and allow to drain well in a colander 5-10 minutes (shake excess water off a couple times). Place nuts back into a bowl and add cinnamon/sugar mixture. Mix well. The moisture from the soaked pecans should help to create a light coating of sugar and cinnamon over the pecans.

Arrange on dehydrator trays in a single layer. Dry at 145-150-degrees F until crispy dry (between 6-12-hours). Note: To test the nuts, allow a couple to cool completely for a few minutes first.

This same recipe works great with raw walnuts too. Because of their delicate oils, walnuts should be stored in the refrigerator. I've tried the recipe with almonds, but didn't like them as well as pecans.

*I'll put in a plug for Saigon Cassia Cinnamon from The Spice House. This particular cinnamon is great for this recipe because it's a sweet/spicy cinnamon that is great for candy-type uses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Savoring Today

I have only made this with walnuts but the recipe says it's also good with pecans or hazelnuts.

SPICY MAPLE WALNUTS

4 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger, halved
1 Tbs. water
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Tabasco, or to taste (I use Cholula)
1 pound (4 cups) shelled nuts

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine all the ingredients except the nuts in a small saucepan and slowly simmer over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Put the nuts in a bowl, pour the glaze over them, and stir and toss to coat them with the glaze.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the nuts in a single layer on it. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring at 15-minute and then 10-minute intervals. When the nuts look light and almost dry as you toss them, they're done. Don't touch them; the caramelized sugar is extremely hot. Slide the nuts on the foil onto a cooling rack and let the nuts cool completely.

Store in airtight containers or plastic freezer bags.

Source: Cooking New American

Thanks so much for the recipes. Now to decide which to use....maybe I will just try them all.

I used this very easy recipe last Christmas and people couldn't get enough of them. I used 1/2 the amt of chipotle powder since I am a whimp, but they were hot enough for me. This was originally posted by Natal on HD forum, I think.

Honey Chipotle Pecans

These are an addictive combination of sweet and spicy. My advice is to always make more than you think you'll need because they go quickly! Can be prepared up to a week ahead of time. Store in a sealed container.

2 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups pecan halves (the larger the better)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium microwave safe mixing bowl, combine the honey, chipotle powder, and ground cinnamon. Warm through. (You can also do this on the stove over low heat.)

Stir nuts into warmed honey mixture. Still well to coat. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spread honey-coated nuts in a single layer. Bake until toasted and fragrant, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and salt in a small bowl.

Remove pecans from oven and allow to cool only slightly (no more than a minute or two -- you want them to still be sticky.)
Dump the hot nuts into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the sugar/salt mix tossing to combine. Spread nuts on cold waxed or parchment paper and let dry. It's best if they don't touch each other.

Serve, or store covered until ready to eat.

Olychick beat me to it!

Natals pecans are great. I've made it several times and always receive requests for the recipe.

All the recipes posted sound wonderful, though. Let us know which one you choose and how it turns out.

Jennifer