Texas Spicy Pecans

I have been holding on to this spicy pecan recipe for at least a year. The Fall Football party last weekend seemed like the perfect time to give it a shot since I was trying to come up with easy make ahead dishes that I could set out for people to nibble on. If you like bold and spicy flavors, this is for you! Jim and I agreed it was way too spicy for our taste, but fortunately our friend Chris loved them so I sent a large bag home with him.

Here is the list of spices that go into this Texas Spicy Pecan recipe:
1 tbsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Ground Thyme
1 tbsp Ground Basil
1 tbsp Granulated Garlic
1 tbsp Ground Coriander
1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tbsp Ground Allspice
2 tbsp Cayenne
2 tbsp Ground White Pepper
2 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp Ancho Chile Powder
2 tbsp Granulated Onion
2 tbsp Ground Cumin
2 tbsp Hot Chile Powder
2 tbsp Dark Chile Powder
1/2 C Lawry's Seasoned Salt
½ C Mexican Light Brown Unrefined Sugar

Talk about a potent blend of spices! Grind any spices that are not in powder form (corriander) and sift everything together.

And you also need: 1/2 C Pure Maple Syrup

and 2 pounds of Pecan Halves.

Pour maple syrup into a heavy stainless pot and bring syrup to a boil. Then pour in pecan halves and stir steadily until syrup passes soft ball stage and adheres to pecans. I wasn't sure what soft ball stage was so I just stirred and watched for the syrup to form a thick coating. (And when I say thick, this is actually thin - if you think about 1/2 cup of syrup and two pounds of pecans, it is going to be a thin layer)

I lightly brushed vegetable oil in this glass bowl, then poured half the pecans inside.

Next I topped the pecans with half the spice blend.

Add the rest of the sticky pecans and pour the rest of the spices on top, stir to coat evenly.

Spread in a single layer (as best you can) on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake 250 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes I pulled the pecans out and tossed them around, then put them back in for the last 15 minutes.

I don't think I'm going to make these again unless requested by Chris. I think I will make up my own recipe for the spices in the future. I liked the maple syrup and the pecans, but how about simply tossing in cinnamon, sugar and maybe a pinch of nutmeg and maybe a pinch of cayenne too. That would be good, right? I will post an update when I experiment with this recipe.