Sweet Treats: Spiced Candied Pecans

Sweet Treats is a new weekly feature here on MissWhoever You Are. With a sweet tooth like mine, it's hard not for me to indulge every now and again in the sweetest and yummiest treats available. Cupcakes, cakes and other goodies are to be shared and enjoyed by all, so why not help you out a little?

Pantene Celebrity Spokesperson and Top Chef host, Padma Lakshmi, wrote a cookbook in 2007 entitled Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet. In it she shares some of the yummiest recipes known to mankind. Here is one recipe for Spiced Candied Pecans (I mean, who doesn't love pecans??)

“These nuts are a sweet and savory snack that can be made hot on the spot with just a few minutes in the oven…The pecans will keep in plastic bags, once cooled, for up to 2 weeks, and are great sprinkled on top of spinach or arugula salads as well.”

· 1 cup of whole pecans
· 1/4 cup maple syrup
· 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

(serves 2)

› Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheet with foil.

› Arrange the pecans on the baking sheet in a single layer. Try to keep the individual nuts from touching each other.

› In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup and chili powder together with a fork. Now drizzle the syrup over the pecans. Try to coat the nuts completely by sliding them around on the baking sheet so all the syrup is used.

› Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the syrup has just begun to brown or blacken; don’t let the nuts burn.

› Remove and immediately arrange the pecans on a dish, making sure they do not touch one another; if you leave them in a pile, they will cool into a brittle.

Enjoy!