Recipe: Party Pecans

Party Pecans

Makes 2 cups

Our friends go absolutely "nuts" for these nuts! So over the years, these little numbers have become a holiday gift-giving tradition for us, The scrumptious tidbits are a perfect balance of sweet, salt, smoke, and heat—delightful on salads or for snacking (and especially tasty with a martini). One of the best things about this recipe is that the pecans will taste fresh and flavorful, even weeks after they were made. That is, if they last that long.

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 cups (6 ounces) pecan halves
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt, such as Lawry's
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Combine the Worcestershire sauce, butter, and liquid smoke in a medium bowl. Add the pecans and stir to coat. In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, sugar, and cayenne. Sprinkle half the spice mixture over the nuts and stir well. Add the remaining spice mixture and stir again.

Spread the nuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the nuts are dry and toasted, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

Buy the Book

from:
The Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook
by Mary Corpening Barber & Sara Corpening Whiteford
with Rebecca Chastenet de Géry
Photographs by Susie Cushner
Chronicle Books
$35.00 hardcover
272 pages
ISBN: 0-8118-3493-X
Recipe reprinted by permission.