Spicy Praline Pecans

Tis the season of gifting galore and this year I am making mine from scratch! Our family always spends Christmas Eve with some of my parents closest friends. It has been like this for years… ever since my parents decided that the annual Christmas pilgrimage from VA to WI was just not worth the hours of snow driving stress. Part of the tradition is an exchange of  little trinkets, many of them unusual, sometimes hysterical and always from the heart.

This year I decided that I would make some of our gifts in an effort to keep things personal. Since we are a group who loves food I figured why not make something that will be sure to keep the bellies satisfied. On the short list were homemade caramels, truffles, spiced nuts and pickles, while I decided on spiced nuts… I am still thinking I might be giving pickling a try.

These spicy sweet nuts look just as beautiful as they taste. Presenting them in ribbon wrapped mason jars makes the final product look like a boutique worthy gift at only a fraction of the price. 

Ingredients:
2 lbs pecan halves

1 ½ C dried cranberries or cherries

¼  C light corn syrup
¼ C packed light brown sugar
2 tbs butter (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients (except nuts and fruit) together in a large mixing bowl and microwave until boiling (about 1-2 minutes). Toss nuts in the mixture being sure to coat them evenly. Pore nuts onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 250 for 45 minutes being sure to toss the nuts every 15 minutes to keep them from burning.

Nuts will stay fresh in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks.