candied crazies

Here we are...CHRISTMAS EVE!  Ahhh....I love love love Christmastime.  I am like a child right now!  Any whoo...time for my last dessert recipe of the year Christmas (I may through in a few before the new year).  I saved my favorite for last and it is most definitely the easiest.  Actually, I don't even eat this dessert, I just love to make them and even more love to smell them cooking!  What is this nifty dessert you ask? ......(drum roll please.....).....Candied Pecans! (get it, candied nuts...crazies?!)

What you need:
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg white
1 tsp water
1 lb pecans (4 cups) ---I would imagine you could substitute any nut here, just haven't tried it, if you do please let me know how it turns out!
2 large bowls
Baking sheet

What to do:
Mix sugar, cinnamon and salt in large bowl
Beat in egg white and water in other bowl
Add pecans into egg mixture and mix until well coated
Stir into sugar mixture until well coated
Bake on buttered cookie sheet for 1 hour at 250
Stir nuts every 15 minutes

My mom and I always made a ton of all these desserts and made desert trays for so many people, especially the ones that you just don't know what to get.  We used some cute dessert trays from the Dollar Tree or the plastic containers for Christmas at Wal Mart.  Though, with these candied nuts I would package them a different way.  I would make a cone from Christmas scrapbook paper and tape it closed.  I would then wrap a handful of nuts in saran wrap and tie with ribbon.  Place the wrapped nuts in the cone and there you have it...one fancy looking yet inexpensive gift!

I hope you have enjoyed my little series here, I had fun finding the recipes and deciding which ones I wanted to share.  Maybe I will have to do another version sometime...hmmm....

Be on the lookout for tutorials and such on the gifts I made for Christmas presents.  I was unable to share them because the recipients of the gifts read my blog!  Merry Christmas!