Candied Vanilla Pecans
You know how they say you should bake fresh cookies before an open house so that your house will smell more enticing to potential buyers? I’m going to go ahead and claim that instead of cookies, you should make these Candied Vanilla Pecans. My house smelled AMAZING last night when I made these. They bake for an entire hour, so the wonderful sweet vanilla scent lingers for a good while. I honestly didn’t want to go to bed and miss any of the awesome smelling air in our place.
The pecans were still warm when I went to bed so I didn’t get to try them until today. Let me tell you, they taste better than they smell. This recipe is amazing. If you’re looking for a last minute holiday gift to make or even a snack to take to a holiday potluck, definitely give this simple recipe a shot.
One Year Ago: Toffee Pecan Cookies
Two Years Ago: Pecan Pie
Four Years Ago: Squash Bisque
Candied Vanilla Pecans
Ingredients:
4 cups (~1 lb) pecans
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp sea salt
3/4 cup vanilla sugar (If you don’t have vanilla sugar, substitute regular sugar and increase the vanilla extract to 1 tsp)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 250 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and sea salt.
In a large bowl combine the egg white, vanilla and water. Beat the egg until it’s light and frothy. Stir in the pecans and mix well. Pour in the sugar mixture and stir until all the pecans are coated.
Dump the mixture onto your large baking sheet and spread the nuts out evenly.
Bake about 1 hour making sure to stir every 15 minutes and break up any large clumps.
Cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack.
Recipe from Miss Lemonie
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
that cake is so beautiful, and sounds delicious!
Wow! Your pictures are amazing! I would love to sink my teeth into that cake right now!
Well…. you’ve done it again! Now, I simply have to add this to my Christmas Eve repetoire. It is fabulous! So many recipes….not enough time!
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
wow! this look unbelievable. I might have to conquer my fear of baking just for this.
Wow, that is stunning! Nice job!
Whoa..this looks beyond incredible…I dont think my sweet tooth will be satisfied ever without this!
I have to do this for Christmas dessert! Thanks for sharing!
C’est magnifique! Great job!!
Seriously, that looks downright sinful and gorgeous!!! Just amazing Jen!
wow, this is over the top 🙂 but totally worth it!! looks awesome!
What a great combination of flavors! I can almost smell the cake. Yum!!
STUNNING! Good job on this, I want a piece!
…great cake!!! and happy bday to Z!!! Hugs, ciao Flavia
What am amazing cake! I love the bright red and contrasting white, simmply beautiful!
What a beautiful cake! My family would love this. Cheesecake and red velvet are my hubby’s favorites. Maybe I will make it for his birthday!
Talk about impressive! You go!
And just when I think you can’t keep coming up with brilliant ideas and delicious photos…this looks/sounds utterly amazing!
Cheesecake in between the cake layers… OMG. You so outdid yourself. That is amazing!
Wow. I saw a similar cheesecake but couldn’t fint a recipe so resolved to just make “plain ole red velvet cupcakes.” This looks so much better!
Oh My – this looks so amazing!
that looks awesome! I saw something similar in the Sam’s club add that I’ve been wanting to try but homemade would be even better
This cake looks so beautiful and I bet it tastes INCREDIBLE! I couldn’t print it out fast enough – I’m definitely trying it in the new year! Wow!
this has been on my ‘want to try’ list for a while! Maybe this will be the push i need to give it a try!
That cake looks gorgeous and delicious!
This is so cool! The only reason I like red velvet is the cream cheese frosting and this just takes it to a whole new level!
Wow, where to begin?! That bright red is gorgeous! The cheesecake hiding in the center sounds ridiculously delicious! Gorgeous photos too:)
this is a perfect holiday cake! great idea.
What a great idea! I love how the cheesecake layer looks so impressive sandwiched between the shockingly red red velvet layers!
Ok this looks amazing!
Hey girl, I am 100% sure I am going to make this for Christmas…it looks amazing! Just wondering…you used a 9″ springform pan for the cheesecake, right?
Joanne, Sorry for the delay, but yet, I used a springform pan for the cheesecake. I think that’s why it came out a tad bigger than the cake layers. Did you make it for Christmas? How did it turn out?
I made this for Christmas and it was absolutely AMAZING! My family really enjoyed it and I already have thoughts of the other cakes that would be incredible with a layer of cheesecake inbetween. What a great idea!
This looks amazing! I am making 60 red velvet cupcakes for my cousin’s homecoming. I used the red velvet recipe without the cheesecake…AMAZING! The best recipe I have found yet. Thanks, keep it up!