I've tried a few recipes for candied pecans and this one is my favorite. They come out nice and shiny and the sugar isn't too overpowering. Put them on salads, ice cream, or just eat them plain! Make one batch and you can snack on them for the next two weeks.
2 1/2 cups pecan halves
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar (I usually use less because they lose their pecan flavor)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
candy thermometer (optional)
wax paper
Mix pecans and oil and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees. The pecans need to be cool before you can do anything with them. In a saucepan, stir sugar, cinnamon, salt, and water over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Using a candy thermometer or the Soft Ball Test to boil the mixture to 236 degrees. Then turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla, and stir in the pecans until well coated. Using a slotted spoon or fork, transfer pecans to wax paper and separate them (a lot will be stuck together). Let them dry and then enjoy!
Soft Ball Test: After the sugar mixture boils for a few minutes, drop a small amount of it into a glass of ice cold water. If it forms a ball and is soft enough to roll around with your fingers, it is the right temperature.
I got to try these the other night and I just couldn't keep my hand out of the bowl. They weren't like the ones that I've attempted to make that have way too much "stuff" on them and that end up really hard so that they cut your mouth when you try to eat them.
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