Saturday, December 13, 2008

Fa la la la la

I'm spending the better portion of my day making Christmas goodies to share. In lieu of Christmas music, we are listening to Kanye West. After Christmas program practice, I just wasn't in the mood for more carols. Bryce and Julia decided to dip peanut butter crackers. Of course, they got half way through and both of them left, so I have a bowl of hardening chocolate almond bark and a plate stacked high with peanut butter crackers on the kitchen table. I'm not touching it.

My new favorite Christmas (or anytime) treats are Sugar and Spice pecans. I got the recipe from my friend Tina (trainer and health nut), so we know they are healthy. I made them for the first time a little bit ago and besides tasting wonderful, the house smells heavenly after roasting them. Personally, next time I make them, I will double the sugar, but they are very tasty just like this:

Sugar and Spice Pecans

4 tbsp sugar (divided)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cayenne
2 egg whites
5 cups pecan halves

Heat oven to 375. In small bowl combine 2 tbsp sugar, salt and all spices. In medium bowl beat egg whites until frothy; add spice mixture. Stir in pecans and toss until coated add remaining sugar. Lightly coat 2 baking pans with nonstick cooking spray; spread nuts in single layer. Bake 10 min., stir and bake 10 min. more, or until golden.

I think this would work well with almonds also. I haven't tried it, so if you try it, let me know how it turns out.

Well, the red-head is up from his nap, so I should get going. I don't think I'll get Christmas cards out this year, so Merry Christmas!

1 comment:

Cole said...

OH, just so you know - I tried the nut recipe with almonds and it didn't turn out well. They were OK, but nothing like the pecans. The dog liked them though - he ate the whole batch..and the bag they were in.