Pea-Can or Pe-Cahhwn?

I love Pecans (you can guess how I pronounce it) and I remember growing up in south Arkansas giving my teachers a big bag of pecans as Christmas presents- wish my students would do that for me!  I have been known to make them go and help me pick some up from the tree behind my classroom!

I was given a big ole bag of pecans last week - about 5 cups worth- so what to do, what to do?  Pie? Well, duh, but I wanted to step out of my box.  I have been thinking of making some Whiskey Sticks since I got some at Christmas, and we have some whiskey (shocker, huh?) so I decided to make Whiskey Pecans.  I looked at recipes and found one that I thought worked best, but of course, being me, I had to do my own thing. I also wanted to cut down a little on the sugar. 

Drunk Pecans

Finished Drunk Pecans..... mmmm mmmm good!

    1/4 cup whiskey
    2 tablespoons Splenda brown sugar -mix
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/ 4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
    1 teaspooon garlic salt
    2 cups raw pecan halves
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter
   
preheat oven to 300*

1   Combine In  small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper and stir until well-combined. Set aside.

2.  Place the pecans in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until they just start to brown and smell toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and stir until the butter is completely melted and the pecans are coated.

3  Add the sugar and spice mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and immediately pour in the whiskey. Stir for 1-2 minutes more, off heat, until everything is well incorporated.

4  Return the pan to medium heat and continue to stir everything in the pan until the liquid thickens and a glaze forms on the pecans, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the pecans to baking sheet and separate pecans into single layer.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and cracker black pepper.

5.  Bake pecans for 5 minutes, take out stir; bake another 5 minutes and then turn the oven off... open the oven door slightly and allow pecans to remain in oven for another 5 minutes.

6. Allow the pecans to cool completely. Once the pecans have cooled, store in an airtight bowl.


These are absolutely YUMMY... The whiskey is not too discernable, but that is a good thing.  I added the sprinkle of garlic salt at the end and I think it really helps to make a big differenc. However, just don't overdo the salt.  The recipe I used called for these to be more 'gooey', but I think with this type of food, you don't need gooey.  You need dry as it's a hand food so I used the oven at 300 and watched the pecans while they were toasting.  Yes, some are blacker than others, but YOU simply have to watch these! 

Finally, these are Dave tested and Dave approved. 

this is how they came off the stove... too much goo!