Candied Pecans

Unusually, I was on salad duty for family dinner. I knew that I wanted to make a spinach salad because the spinach has been looking really great at the farmers' market. Other than that, I wasn't sure. Evan's mom makes a salad we all like that has nuts and a poppy seed dressing. I remembered having seen a candied nut recipe in Dana Jacobi's Natural Health Cookbook and thought that they might be nice with spinach. Her recipe calls for walnuts, but I thought pecans would be nicer for spinach. I recommend this recipe highly for its ease and tastiness, but be aware that the nuts stay quite sticky. If you prefer less-sticky nuts, you should probably use an equivalent amount of sugar and cook the whole thing on in a pan on the stove.

The possibilities are myriad in terms of the spices you add to the syrup.

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP brown rice syrup or agave nectar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1 c. pecans

DIRECTIONS
  1. Mix first four ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl
  2. Toast the pecans until they're golden (for us, a medium toast in toaster oven is perfect if using frozen pecans)
  3. Toss the warm nuts into the syrup mixture and stir to coat
  4. Spread the coated nuts onto a baking tray (preferably an oiled one or one with a silicone mat on it)
  5. Store in an airtight container, though at our house these don't last long

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