Healthy Sugar-Free Candied Pecans
My midwest may be showing here but… remember those candied nuts from the local fair? They also had them at the mall. Wherever they were, I always bought them. (Or rather… my parents bought them for me until I was a teenager and making my own money.) I think I ate them so often that they’re actually engrained in my DNA. So much so… that on a recent trip to Cabela’s (not my shopping trip but I’m always going to peruse the snack aisle there) I bought them.
And guess what? They were incredible. But since I ate them… I’ve been craving them again. So I thought about doing my favorite thing to junk food & “healthified it”. I realized it could be done with - Monk Fruit!
Yep, Monk Fruit. If you’ve never used it before, it sounds weird, I know. I even got laughed at while bringing it up in a casual conversation [while talking about how I made my whipped coffee].
But - hear me out.
Monk Fruit gives the same sweetness of sugar - without all of the sugar. It’s natural. It doesn’t give you any of those weird aftertastes or side effects like some artificial sweeteners do. Oh, and not that we’re counting - but it also has ZERO calories.
Sounds like a win to me.
Because no one likes reading a novel when they’re just trying to find a recipe… I’ll stop myself here.
Oh, and one more thing. Did I mention it only takes 5 minutes from start to finish?
Healthy Sugar-Free Candied Pecans
Ingredients:
1 cup pecans
3 TBSP Monk Fruit Sweetener
Dash of Cinnamon
Dash of Sea Salt
Directions:
Heat pan over medium heat. Add in pecans and toast for ~2 minutes (or 30 seconds if you tend to be impatient like I am).
Add in monk fruit sweetener. Continue stirring for about 2 minutes, or until the monk fruit begins to break down and form a candy coating on the outside of the pecans.
Add in a few dashes of cinnamon & sea salt. Stir to combine.
Carefully pour on a sheet [covered with parchment paper for easy clean-up]. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!
I highly recommend enjoying these while they’re warm for that county fair nostalgia - or, store in an air-tight container to enjoy later (or to keep away from your roommates/partner/family… no judgment here).
Forewarning: don’t be too impatient and lick the spatula. You’ll burn your tongue like I did.
Store time: I can’t tell you how long these last because they haven't lasted more than 2 days in my home. I have a feeling they won’t last that long in yours either. 😉
If you’re interested in reading more about what monk fruit is & the benefits of monk fruit, this evidence-based article from Healthline provides more information.