Maple Glazed Pecans

My blog post last week was on An Alternative Gift-Giving Guide – ideas for gifts that aren’t tangible gifts, more of a DIY gift or the gift of an experience. Minimalism at the Holidays. I’m not opposed to giving actual gifts, because I do give gifts. However, I try to give intentional gifts when I do give them or I’ll give them when people aren’t expecting them. Not calling myself ‘cheap’, but rather think that people buy items when they need them. Buying more things isn’t always the most thoughtful. This is just my take/opinion on gift-giving. However, Maple Glazed Pecans are on my list of ‘things to give’ this year!

Giving gifts in the form of baked goods, that I have been known to do. Birthdays, holiday, I’m the dietitian that makes Real Desserts! Baking for me is a hobby as well as is therapeutic. There’s science behind this where baking makes me really have to focus and concentrate on the measurements. Taking photos after also lets me create food art. Creating something to turn out just perfectly gives you a sense of accomplishment when it’s all said and done, even if there are a few flops here and there. I take the ‘flops’ as a moment to learn from. I’m talking about DIY gifts today. Use your imagination and if it’s not food that you’re making, maybe it will be something else you can DIY. You know what you’re good at!

Nuts are versatile, healthy, and nutrient dense. I can’t say enough good things about nuts. I tend to rotate the nut I am eating each day so that I don’t get bored. This helps with variety within the nuts that I’m eating which leads to variety within the nutrients – vitamins and minerals – I’m getting as well. No overthinking necessary.

DIY – Maple Glazed Pecans

Since I tend to eat the nuts plain – in their whole form – I decided to take them up a notch for the holidays and make them glazed. Ooh la la. As a dietitian I try to use as little added sugar as possible, but when making these glazed pecans I can tell you I added as little as possible (compared to other recipes I researched) and let me tell you – they are DELISH, in my humble opinion.

And the thing about this recipe, is that it is so basic. You can switch out the nut – walnuts, cashews, or mix them all together!. You can even add whatever spices you’d like – a chai spiced pecan would be right up my alley – I think the sky is the limit. But for now, let’s start with the basics.

I usually only make just 1/2 cup for myself (they’re glazed and again, remember I try to limit the added sugar. Plus when you crumble them a little goes a long way…and in Miami the humidity makes the nuts soft, so I only make what I need.) I wrote the recipe for a full 2 cups since it’s easier to make more at the same time. And this year I did this and stored the nuts in the fridge. Worked like a charm!

Nuts can be expensive, find the place in your city – if you have a friend that shops at Costco or if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby – where they’re the cheapest and stock up when you make this recipe. I always store nuts in the freezer as they can go rancid if they’re not used in a short amount of time – and since nuts are expensive, no one wants to have to throw away expensive food.

How To Make Maple Glazed Pecans

This recipe is literally so simple, dump everything in a bowl, mix together, roast on a sheet pan. Although you do want to rotate the pan halfway through to help with even cooking. Watch the nuts closely – my oven is brand new and this was the perfect amount of time, but nuts can burn because of the sugar if they caramelize too much. Let them cool so you can break them apart. And that’s it. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Now I will say this – if you are adding spices, 9 times out of 10 recipes use a little beaten egg white to help the spices stick.

I’m not the biggest fan of adding the egg white only because I personally don’t think they come out looking as pretty. My trick is simply to sprinkle the spices on after you’ve spread the nuts on the sheet pan. They’ll only be on the top of the nuts, but they do stick (since my recipe has olive oil and maple syrup). Kind of a personal choice, but the way I do it they look prettier. Trust me. But this recipe is the basics, so you can see how easy they are to make. Now go make you some!

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