Spiced Pecans

These nuts are all over the place...and that's a good thing. Spicy, sweet, salty and smoky.  They will hit everyone of your tastebuds. When you serve them up as holiday gifts, you'll have a group of grateful folks on your hands.

The recipe I will post here is for pecans, but walnuts, almonds or a mix will do the trick nicely. Just be careful to keep stirring and don't cook at too high a heat.  You don't want these treasures getting too browned.


Spiced Pecans
Makes 2 cups.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons roughly chopped rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and cook, swirling skillet constantly, until nuts are just toasted, about 5 minutes.

Add brown sugar, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, chili powder, salt, Tabasco sauce, black pepper, and cinnamon and stir until pecans are evenly coated. Continue cooking pecans, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 minute longer.

Transfer pecans to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, spread into a single layer, and let cool, stirring pecans and breaking up sugar and spices occasionally.