The other thing I made for Christmas was these sugar-crusted, ginger-flavoured pecans. I’m sure they contributed mightily to my post-holiday weight gain, because I could just not stop putting them into my mouth. Other people seemed to be keen on them too, although this was where I found out that Matt doesn’t really like nuts. How did I miss this before? Unobservant! I like them enough for both of us, obviously, but I guess it doesn’t really matter since it’s the kind of thing you make to bring to a party, not just to have around, so I wouldn’t be saddling him with things he won’t eat.

I found the recipe on Eat Make Read, and I KNOW if you go there now you’ll see that it originally came from Martha Stewart, but in my defense, when it was first posted, this was not mentioned – she didn’t know whence came the recipe. I am not softening my stance on Martha. That is not what this is. Don’t look at me that way, I didn’t know.

Sweet Ginger Pecans

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups pecan halves
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp water

Method
Preheat the oven to 325.
Spread out the nuts on a baking sheet (it should go without saying that it should have a rim, I mean…) and toast in the oven until fragrant, which is about 10 – 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, or while you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, mix together the salt, sugar, and ginger in a bowl.
Next, in a pot big enough to accomodate all the pecans, bring the honey, oil, and water to a boil.
By this time the pecans should be ready, so take them out of the oven, if you haven’t already, and chuck them in the pot.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 – 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir it once or twice but nothing excessive.
Now dump the nuts into the bowl of seasonings and toss to coat.
Let them dry and cool on a sheet of waxed paper.