A few years ago, I shared my favorite recipe for the easiest and yummiest sugared pecans. When I first tasted these pecans many years ago, I thought for sure that they were slow roasted for a day in some special cast iron kettle because they are seriously that good (and addicting)! When I found out they were made in a microwave for five minutes, I couldn’t believe it and had to make the recipe myself. I was amazed that it worked and have been making them every fall for about 15 years.
***I have received emails that people are having a hard time finding good pecans and I wanted to update this post and mention that you can order a 2 lb bag on Amazon here of the best pecans out there from Kirkland Signature. These are the #1 selling pecans on Amazon****
Today, I am re-sharing the recipe because I have tweaked them over the years and I also now make them three different ways (plain sugared, cinnamon and spicy). These pecans are always the one thing that I have to make each year and I crave them. I also made a pretty free printable gift tag for all your homemade fall gift goodies.
Ok, first, let me share the printable Happy Fall gift tag for your baked goodies:
The printable gift tag comes on a standard 8.5″ x 11″ page and it has 6 tags for you to cut out on each page. It’s best to use white smooth card stock (no linen lines) and you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to print the sheets. If you do not have Adobe, you can download it here free (you need this for most printables).
The link for you to print the tags are the blue hyperlink that says Free Printable Happy Fall Tags directly below the next image of how the tags will look when you print them:
Next, you’ll find the recipe:
Sugared Pecans
2 Cups pecans
1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice (be sure and shake orange juice so its not watery)
1 Tablespoon butter (for buttering bowl)
(For cinnamon pecans, add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. For spicy cinnamon pecans, add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon).
1) Begin by buttering a microwave safe dish. After much trial and error, I found that a 9″ glass pie pyrex pan is perfect because it’s not too deep and too shallow.
2) Mix brown sugar with orange juice and pecans. Mix for several minutes so that every pecan is coated.
3) Put mix in dish and microwave on high for 4-6 minutes (depending on how strong your microwave is) and stir every 2 minutes! (My microwave is 1100 watts and I set my microwave exactly for 5 minutes 40 seconds and I stir every two minutes). If you know your microwave is less or more than mine, you can adjust give or take 20 seconds.
The sugar needs to boil but there is a fine line between boiling and burning the pecans, which is why it’s necessary to stir every 2 minutes and watch carefully. When you are done, you should see the pecans beginning to crystalize or get sandy. If your pecans are not getting sandy, you may need to add and addition 15-20 seconds.
4) When the microwave is done, immediately pour pecans onto buttered tin foil and spread evenly.
5) Allow to completely cool (about 2 hours). Pecans will not taste crispy and good until they completely cool down and fully crystalize. Don’t panic if they taste rubbery when you first take them out, the magic happens after about an hour.
Store in air tight bags or containers.
I hope you guys give this a try because they are so wonderful!
By the way, last year I also shared a different Happy Fall printable along with my recipe for Sweet and Salty Fall Snack Mix that you can find here (so good too!!):
Happy Fall friends!!
Cheers!
Cyndy
***Amazon Affiliate links used in this post***
Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family says
Looks yummy! The tag is too cute too. Thanks for sharing it.
Sue says
I know what I’m doing in the morning! Anxious to try these out, thanks for the easy recipe.
Nancy says
I love, love, love your creative ideas! My frustration is that I can’t save my favorites to Pinterest. I use my iPad and for some reason it won’t connect to my Pinterest account…I dony have that problem with other sites. Any ideas how to make this work?
debbie says
Thanks, Cyndy. I know these are delish.
Nicole says
Thanks so much for sharing! I can’t wait to try it!
Lola says
Can’t wait to try these out…great Christmas gifts for coworkers…thanks for sharing.
Cyndy says
Thanks so much for your note Lola! They are SO yummy! Enjoy!
stephanie schmeling says
These sound awsome!! I am wondering if i can use almonds? Will it work the same?
Wendy says
I am a little confused. In first pic I see a chunk of butter. Do I add leftover butter after buttering bowl? I know I am a little late to the rodeo but I would love to make these successfully
Cyndy says
Hi Wendy! In the recipe, I mention 1 Tablespoon (for buttering the bowl). No more butter is needed. I just had the whole stick of butter in my image to show that it’s butter. 🙂
Lauren Rios says
Hi, how long do these pecans last once they are made? I am thinking of preparing these for a fall baby shower and I’ll have roughly 60 guests so it will take some time to make everything. I am thinking of starting a few days ahead of the shower. Will they last?
Cyndy says
They last for a couple weeks in a sealed container Lauren! You’ll love them! 🙂
AJ says
Is there a substitute for the orange juice? It’s not something I have in the house n a regular basis and hate to buy a whole quart for just 2 Tbsp. then throw out the rest!
Cyndy says
Nothing that I could recommend. I’m not clear why you would need go but a whole quart vs. just buying a small individual 6 oz one from gas station. Sorry. Not sure what else to tell you..
Stephanie says
Have you ever tried using almond’s.? Thank you
Stephanie says
Could you use almonds ?
Mary says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love buying Cinnamon Roasted Pecans at a ball game or carnival or theater. So, I will definitely make these and surprise my husband. Do they need to be refrigerated once in the air tight container? Plus, how long will they last (Basically the shelf life)? Thank you,
Cyndy says
You will love these Mary! I do not refrigerate them and they are still crunchy after a couple weeks in an air tight container. We use them on spinach salads too! So yummy! 😉
Nona says
Can you sub almonds?
Denise says
Have you tried doubling or is it better todo single batches?