This recipe, from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, is unbelievably good. The pecans are addictive. They have a nice after-burn from the cayenne, but are not uncomfortably hot.
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Melt in a saucepan:
- 1 stick of butter, then add
- 4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 3 Tbsp. kosher salt (I’ll reduce the salt to 2 Tbsp. the next time I make it)
- 1/2 cup honey
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one minute while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add
- 1 lb. pecan halves
Stir together until pecans are coated thoroughly. Spread out on a sheet pan lined with parchment or silpat and bake in a preheated 325° oven for 25 – 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, more frequently during the last 10 minutes. Bake until the pecans are done, brown, and the liquid has evaporated. Don’t let them burn! When cool enough to handle, break apart the nuts. Cool completely before serving and store in an air tight container.
These look wonderful–will definitely try them! I have several “spiced nuts” recipes that we like–some sweet, and some savory, but these look like a combination of the two with the cayenne and honey. Thanks, Marian!
I’ve made 2 batches of these so far. The next batch I’ll cut the salt by a tbsp, and will increase the honey slightly to make them a little sweeter. I tried these with walnuts, and they were surprisingly awful. Pecans get that toasted pecan flavor. Really good.