Every year , I look forward to candied pecans at Christmas time. My mom made them for Holiday parties when I was young and they always seemed to add to the fantastic glow of the evening. They are so goooood, too! I wanted to make them as teacher/friend/neighbor gifts this year but wanted to add a little twist. Enter, grapefruit.
Now, grapefruit and I have a long running dispute, which you can read about here. I adore, adore, adore the smell of grapefruit but cannot eat it. Blerg! I cannot tell you how foul tasting it is to me. I got it in my head that if I could give the flavor of grapefruit to these nuts, it might be just the middle ground I’m looking for. The flavor, but not the taste. And, it worked deliciously!
I wrapped the nuts up in adorable little milk jars and added some greens and holly with a bit of twine. Throw in a fun tag and voila!
Here’s the recipe, but I will warn you, they are dangerously good!
Candied Pecans with Grapefruit Zest
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cold water
1 egg white
1 teaspoon grated grapefruit zest
1 1b pecan halves
:: Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
:: Mix in a bowl: 1 cup of sugar, 1 t cinnamon, 1 t salt.
:: Mix until frothy in a mixing bowl: 1 t cold water, 1 egg white.
:: Add 1 teaspoon of grapefruit zest to the egg whites. Add the pecans immediately afterward as the citrus will deflate the froth a bit.
:: Stir 1 lb of pecan halves into the egg white mixture.
:: Add the dry ingredients, stir well.
:: Spread them over a cookie sheet with sides.
:: Cook for 1 hour at 225 degrees, stirring occasionally to keep from burning.
Let cool, and package them up. I usually double the recipe to get more bang for the effort!
Everyone was raving! yippee!
Mary Ann says
Tried these tonight – fantastic flavor and super easy to make!
Thanks for recipe.
flaxandtwine says
Mary Ann, This makes me so happy! I’m so glad you tried them. They’ll become a holiday favorite!
xo
Marcelle Woolf says
Thanks for sharing. Soooo! Delis! I made so many batches and used for grand kids teacher & hostess gifts during the holiday season. The first double batch I made for gifts disappear in front of my eyes. I had to hide the other batches from my family. 😮 I bought the Pecans at Cosco in bulk.
I couldn’t find the lovely bottles you used so land up using Balls Jam Jars which I decorated with a pretty wire ribbon bow. Looked great. I attached a card with recipe on it. It was received with great joy. Many have since told me that they have made the recipe several times and loved it. So I spread your love & joy. Thanks again for sharing and removing the stress of the holiday season. Much appreciated, Marci
flaxandtwine says
Hi Marci! Thanks so much for your comment. It makes me so so happy when people come back and tell me what they did! What a great idea to provide a recipe with your gift. I think I may do that next year. Love and joy to you!~
el says
clever recipe……..just made candied grapefruit peel this year after many years of abstinence
flaxandtwine says
thank so much – ooh candied grapefruit peel sounds amazing!