Maple Caramel Pecans

Those of you real food blogging "old timers" may remember a website called Real Food Freaks, which was an awesome resource for recipes and healthy living. The authors have since moved on and the blog/ website is no longer active (unfortunately)!

My absolute favorite recipe from Real Food Freaks was a snack that involved pecans in a maple syrup caramel sauce, but the recipe was lost forever (ok, maybe I'm being a little dramatic) when the site was deactivated.

My recipe below was developed to try to capture the taste of the original recipe by Real Food Freaks. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups raw pecans, soaked and dried

2 tbsp. butter, like this one

1/3 cup maple syrup (Grade B has more nutrients than Grade A)

1/4 tsp. sea salt or Real Salt, plus extra to taste

 

 

How To:

1. Combine the butter and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Gently heat to boiling over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and boil for five minutes.

 

 

2. Add pecans and salt. Stir to combine. You may need to raise the heat momentarily to bring the mixture back to a boil, but then return to low heat and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

 

 

3. Move to a plate lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with additional salt, if needed. Let cool for an hour or two, and then enjoy! You can speed up the process by cooling in the refrigerator. Be warned... they are very addictive.

 

 

Comments:

You should soak your pecans to maximize the nutritional benefit. Simple place into a non-reactive bowl with 3/4 tsp. salt for every cup of filtered water used. Stir and then let sit for 7 hours minimum and up to overnight. Then dehydrate and store as usual.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the soaked pecans onto the baking sheet, and bake at the lowest temperature on your oven overnight (or at least 6-8 hours). Check every so often and stir to make sure they don't burn. This is the method I use and my oven temp is 170 degrees.

 

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This post was shared at Fight Back Friday, Foodtastic Friday, Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Busy Monday, Fat Tuesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday. Please follow the links for more great recipes and ideas.