Candied Pecans

Hi Everyone.  It's time for this month's Secret Recipe Club, where each month, a group of bloggers are assigned a blog, and we get to choose a recipe from that blog to feature on our own blogs, then we all reveal our assigned blogs on the same day.

This month I was assigned the blog:  Smells Like Brownies by Melissa.  Melissa is a stay-at-home wife and mother of two, and her favorite thing to do is share delicious food with her family and friends.  

Melissa's blog is only 4 years old, but she has an impressive catalog of recipes to choose from.  I had a particularly busy week so I needed to find a simple and fast recipe to prepare for this month's reveal.  The Black Bean Hummus sounded really good, so did the Salmon Mousse (definitely going to make that one), and if I had had time, the Maple Coconut Granola has my name written all over it, and I would have tried the Homemade Mozzarella, but in the end, time was a huge factor so I chose Candied Pecans which I plan to share with family during the upcoming holidays.  These nuts are addictive - the only thing I'd do differently next time is make more!  

Thanks Melissa - these candied pecans are the bomb!

Start by lightly toasting the halved pecans in the oven.

Make a sugar praline-like syrup syrup.

Add pure vanilla extract (use the best!).

Add the toasted pecans to the caramelized sugar syrup.

Toss well to coat.

Pour coated pecans onto a silicone lined sheet pan; spreading them out into a single layer.

Bake in oven, tossing every 10 minutes until the sugar crystallizes. 

Totally addictive - sorry I didn't make a double batch!  

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• pecan halves https://amzn.to/3g7Kr71

• nonstick saucepan https://amzn.to/3HhiOUL

• silicone coated whisk https://amzn.to/3IQVyxy

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3KYKWyv

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3s3oT0P

• candy thermometer https://amzn.to/34fnzzH

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3r9wNGK

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Candied Pecans

makes 1 1/2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

• 1/2 tablespoon butter

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a Silpat liner and preheat the oven to 250F (yes, 250F).

2. Spread pecan halves on prepared sheet pan and toast in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, water, salt, and cinnamon (use a silicone coated whisk if you have a hard time breaking up the clumps of cinnamon).

4. As soon as the sugar is completely dissolved, stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer.

5. Continue cooking, without stirring, until the temperature of the sugar syrup reaches 246F (soft ball stage).

6. Remove sugar syrup from heat and stir in vanilla, followed by the toasted pecans; toss until pecans are completely coated.

7. Pour coated pecans onto prepared sheet pan, spreading into a single layer.

8. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note

• To check if your candy thermometer is properly calibrated, use this online calculator to see what the boiling point of water is based on the elevation of your zip code (US residents). Simply plug in your zip code to get your elevation. Once you have your elevation, use the same calculator to see what temperature water will boil at that elevation. For example, according to my zip code, my elevation is about 900 feet above sea level. That means my thermometer should indicate 210F at the point water boils. If my candy thermometer indicates a difference, I would have to add or subtract that difference from my target temperature.

Salmon Something Somethings

When you're a food blogger, you tend to have friends who are also food bloggers.... and when food bloggers talk, the conversation can start off being about anything, but inevitably, you always find a way to bring it back to food.  That's what happened the other day when I was talking to my dear friend Kim from The Finer Cookie (a fabulous blog, by the way).  I had a function to attend and I needed to come up with a quick appetizer so I asked her to share some ideas.  She spurted off a number of suggestions without hesitation, but my favorite was this one,

"cucumber slices with sour cream something, chives, and something something"  

Ha!  So here's what I came up with - pumpernickel rounds topped with garlic and herb cheese, a slice of cucumber, a slice of smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream, and I finished it all off with a generous sprinkling of shallot salt, finely ground black pepper, and fresh chopped chives.   

I started by cutting scalloped rounds of pumpernickel bread.  Rye would work have worked too, but I really like the color contrast the pumpernickel provides.  Toast them if you like, but I didn't have time.

I used the 3rd smallest cutter from this dual sided set of cutters.  Basically, you want the bread round to be a little larger than the slices of cucumber you're going to use.

Side note - pumpernickel has always been my favorite - hard to find good pumpernickel these days.  Anyway, my grumpy kid tells me he doesn't like it at all, but guess who keeps using it to make sandwiches?  Ha!

To cut thin, perfectly even slices of cucumber, I used this nifty gadget.

Perfetto!

Alrighty then, top each pumpernickel round with a generous dab of extremely flavorful spreadable garlic and herb cheese.  

I used this garlic and herb cheese by Alouette, but garlic and herb Boursin would be delicious too. 

Top each dollop of cheese with a thin slice of cucumber and press it down to glue it in place. Then add really good quality smoked salmon and a tiny dollop of sour cream.  Starting to look pretty good, huh?  You could eat them just like this, but I have a few flavor bombs up my sleeve.  

The first is shallot salt.  I could sprinkle this stuff on EVERYTHING.  It tastes like a combination of smoky onions and garlic.  So, so good.  

Okay, so sprinkle a healthy dash of shallot salt all over.

And follow with plenty of finely cracked black pepper and chopped fresh chives.   That's all there is to it.  Now take my advice and don't turn your back on these because they disappear fast.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• round cutter set https://amzn.to/3HdWn2Q

• grater/slicer set https://amzn.to/3KTU9I9

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Salmon Something Somethings

makes 20 appetizers

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 sliced pumpernickel bread

• 2 ounces Alouette Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese (or Boursin)

• 20 thin slices of English cucumber

• 4 ounces thinly sliced, high quality smoked salmon

• 1 ounce sour cream

• shallot salt (garlic or onion salt would work)

• finely ground black pepper

• chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Cut twenty 2 1/4-inch rounds from the pumpernickel bread. I used this awesome set of dual-sided cutters.

2. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic and herb cheese on each bread round.

3. Add one slice of cucumber on top of cheese and press down slightly.

4. Top cucumber with bite-size pieces of smoked salmon.

5. Top salmon with 1/4 teaspoon sour cream.

6. Sprinkle liberally with shallot salt, finely ground black pepper, and freshly chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Note

• If you want to transport these, use a carrier like this. They don’t travel well on a platter because plastic wrap will smoosh the sour cream.