Wow, I love all of your comments and feedback on my original cinnamon sugar pecans recipe! Thanks for showing a girl some love and keep sharing!
I couldn’t resist the urge to make these paleo friendly this year and decided to substitute coconut sugar for the granulated white sugar and loved how they turned out. Sometimes we find ourselves afraid to try something new for fear of failure. Sometimes we fail and worse case, you throw out a bad or burned batch. And sometimes we find we love the new product just as much as the original and these now have a seat at my holiday table!
The coconut sugar has a tenancy to burn faster than white sugar, but it still lends that “sugary” coarseness to the pecans and a satisfying crunch. You can certainly modify and use 1/4 -1/2 cup less. This is a strange thing to consider, because you need just enough to coat the pecans, but for those of us who are *mostly* paleo, our pallets have changed and we find naturally sweet things almost overly sweet sometimes!
They’ll look darker than the original recipe because coconut sugar is dark brown, like brown sugar. See the difference?
Now some hardcore paleo peeps don’t indulge in any sugar at all. And some find that even coconut sugar has a delayed effect on their blood sugars. If this is you, skip this recipe. It won’t be for all, which is why I call it paleo “friendly”.
If you are ok with coconut sugar, which “technically” is considered paleo, and it doesn’t have adverse effects on your diet or body, GO FOR IT! Same as any other indulgence, just watch how much you’re eating here. This isn’t health food – it’s pecans and a natural sugar, found in nature, but still a sugar. And while pecans are high in healthy unsaturated fat, it’s still a high fat food. Fats are fats and calories are calories.
Get your workout on and burn those calories and you’ll feel better about the indulgence.
But enjoy these if a little cinnamon and a little sugar makes it feel like the holidays for you and start your diet next Monday. xoxo
- 1 egg white
- 1-2 teaspoons water
- 1-2 teaspoons really good, pure, vanilla
- 1 pound of pecan halves
- ½ - 1 cup of coconut sugar (also called coconut nectar sugar or coconut palm sugar)
- ½ - 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional: ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees, Fahrenheit
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (coconut oil spray is great)
- In a large zip-top bag, mix coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt and cayenne (if using). Shake it around to combine..
- In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a fork or whisk until frothy, add water and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Add the pecan halves to the egg white mixture and stir to coat all pecans with the liquid.
- Dump the wet pecans into the bag of sugar, seal the top and shake to combine to coat the pecans in the cinnamon sugar mixture
- Pour onto the greased baking sheet and spread them out into an even layer
- Bake for 45-60 mins, stirring every 15-20 mins and watch to make sure they don't burn. Everyone's oven is different so keep an eye on them based on how hot you know your oven gets!
- Break them up a bit if any are sticking once you remove them from the oven. Let them cool then pack them up and share. They are delicious warm from the oven, but not hot. Don't burn yourselves and don't say I didn't warn you!
