Since I can’t tolerate a lot of sugar these days (much to my dismay), and certainly not much cane sugar or other processed stuff, I opted to make candied pecans for gifts this year instead of cookies or fudge. My forays into paleo cookies have been meh, and fudge is well, fudge. I know I’ll end up snacking on whatever I make, so better some nuts and low glycemic index sugars right? I guess…

Anyway, I usually make the kind that uses egg whites as a binder, but I had this idea that I could use a modified version of my granola recipe instead (oil and maple syrup). The palm sugar, coconut oil, and shredded coconut, instead of binding to the pecans, turned into this streusel-like concoction on the bottom of my pan. So the pecans were a bit meh, but the stuff that didn’t bind to it is DELICIOUS. I’ll refine later, but it’s basically equal parts coconut oil, maple syrup, and palm sugar with some spices, mixed with finely shredded unsweetened dried coconut and baked. I’m thinking apple pie…

Anyway, the next round of pecans came out great:

1 lb raw, unsalted pecan halves
1 egg white whisked with 1 tbsp water
1 cup palm sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 ish tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground chipotle
1/2 c unsweetened finely shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 250. Mix the wet ingredients with the pecans, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Or do it all on the pan with your hands. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Turn sheet and toss pecans. Repeat until the pecans are smelling good and the coating is almost dry (about 45 minutes total in my oven). Cool completely and store (or eat).