Despite some seasonal confusion (my heart is saying pine cones but my eyes are still seeing roses), I have to say, this dual border fêting is working out quite well for us.
We gladly welcomed the five day American Thanksgiving break with some highly unstructured family time. It’s amazing how much fun you can have doing precisely nothing.
With a house full of boys, I’ve learned to embrace the concept of movement. Time off generally means planning some kind of high-octane activity that often involves long drives, little sleep and most assuredly, adventure.
Not this time. Instead, we woke without alarms, lingered over long breakfasts, hung out in our pjs, enjoyed unhurried dog walks and played some intense and at times combative spirited and often impassioned poker (I can’t remember the last time we managed to corral our teenage sons into cards – let’s face it, hanging out with mom and dad just doesn’t cut it at this stage. I guess poker teases the possibility of adventure).
So here we are on the other side of two Thanksgivings and look… it’s time to celebrate again!
The advent calendar is out (yes I still do an advent calendar for my boys, judge if you must), the Christmas cards are in production and Grand-maman’s Bâtonnets à la melasse instructions are on the counter. I’ve known the recipe for her delicate French biscuits by heart for 15 years but I still need to see it every year.
And today I’m sharing another delicious holiday nibble that I’ve been making quite a bit lately. Crunchy caramelized love bites that are simply packed with flavor. The combination of maple and Sriracha together with warm earthy sage and sea salt offers up sweet, savory and spicy notes with every bite.
Not into heat? No problem.
Skip the Sriracha and make a version with maple syrup alone — equally delicious and works especially well on cereal and for yogurt topping, etc. The plain maple version is the one I make the most ~ the Sriracha is just my special holiday edition (wink).
These tasty pecans also make a great game day munchie or a beautiful gift for teachers, neighbors and friends. Tuck them into a mason jar, decorate the lid if you wish and attach a ribbon. Festive, delicious and so simple.
enjoy!
- 2 cups whole unsalted pecans
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha hot chili sauce
- 2 tsp melted coconut oil or butter
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
- pinch sea salt
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together: maple syrup, sriracha, coconut oil (or butter) and sage.
- Add pecans to the bowl and, using your hands, toss nuts around thoroughly to ensure they are well coated with mixture.
- Invert coated pecans onto parchment paper and spread out such that nuts are not touching. Be sure to scoop out any final wet mixture from the bowl with a spatula and onto the pecans.
- Sprinkle coated pecans with some sea salt.
- Place tray in the oven for 10-12 minutes to roast (tossing the nuts at least once) until the pecans are fragrant and have begun to brown - **you don't want to burn the nuts** so keep a close eye.
- Carefully remove the tray from the oven and allow the nuts to cool before enjoying. NOTE: the nuts will be somewhat soft when they come out of the oven as the glaze is molten. As the nuts cool down, they will crisp up. Enjoy!
2) You can omit the Sriracha altogether if heat is not your thing. The maple version is equally delicious and works especially well on cereal and as a topping for yogurt and salads, etc.
3) Enjoy these nuts as an appetizer, snack, game day munchie or offer them up as a gift (teachers/friends/neighbors) -- so easy to make and you can present them in a decorative mason jar.
4) Store the pecans in an airtight container for up to 1 week (they are freshest/crunchiest in the first 3 days).
Made this recipe and cut the S. sauce in half and loved the flavor, but think next time (today) I’m going to go the whole amount!!! Interesting and delish!!! Ordered 10# of pecans from a farm in Georgia each Fall for 20 years and this is a good time to make some for gifts. Thanks!!! Maple syrup must be pure!!!
Hi Bel! Thank you so much for your note, I love hearing about how readers experience these recipes. That farm in Georgia sounds dreamy and I hope the double dose of sriracha worked out well :) what a great gift, yum! So glad you’re enjoying this recipe and appreciate you taking the time to drop in and say hello. Cheers.
Oh, yes, to the pure maple syrup! Although I’ve been living in California for over 5 years now, I still bring Canadian maple syrup home with me (I may be biased but to me anyway, it doesn’t get better :o)
Delectable, beautiful, festive photos!
The pecans look good enough to devour. xx
XOX thank you!
Not sure what I love more, the advent calendar, the spirited poker or the nuts! We make a version of nuts very similar to these. I’ve never used sriracha though. What a great idea! Glad you all enjoyed some family time. :)
hard to beat caramelized nuts :) thanks Kristy!! Advent calendar still going strong.
Ooh sounds like fun holidays!! I remember playing poker with my fam when my brother and I were around your boys age! Much more thrilling than cards ;-)
My mom and I make some sort of roasted nuts every year around Christmas- my favourite is a maple-rosemary variety but I am loooooving the idea of this kick of sriracha! I just got home from New Zealand yesterday and I have SO many recipes I want to make before Christmas! I hope I have time to try these beauties!!!
welcome home KoKo!! Good luck with the transition and settling back into life in Canada… the holidays are busy but I know you will find a pace and balance that suits you. Enjoy, xx
Oh, I had the exact same bottle of maple syrup! My friends who used to live in Canada brought it over for me on a visit to France, and were rather bemused to find that you could buy it cheaper in France than in Canada :D. I loved the bottle though… that was until my cat knocked it over and smashed it :(
I love the look of these pecans – is the flavour of sriracha very apparent? I only ask because I’ve actually gone off the stuff of late (how is that possible you may wonder?!) – not because of the heat, I love spicy stuff, it’s just something about the flavour, and I know you said you could skip it, but I do think the flavour combination would actually be lovely as long as it wasn’t just “smash you in the face sriracha” flavour :D.
thanks! agreed, maple syrup is strangely expensive in Canada. Ah well, happy to support our gems :) we found the sriracha flavor relatively mild (my boys were not able to make a positive ID when sampling though they both agreed there was a slight spiciness to the nuts) it’s a tough thing to declare on behalf of others though… taste is so personal, you know. Happy holidays Charles.
“It’s amazing how much fun you can have doing precisely nothing” — such a great line! And yes, those breaks where we actually get to have a rest are certainly welcome. Loved reading this post… I’m so happy that your family appears to be settling comfortably. It’s not easy moving to a new place and even more difficult when that move involves adapting to a new country.
I’ll have to keep poker in mind as a future enticement for my young boys ;-) thanks for the tip and these caramelized nuts could not be more captivating Kelly. They look gorgeous and I know many people on my list who would love to receive them. Kitchen gifts are the best. Enjoy your Christmas baking and your Grandma’s biscuits…
Hi Clare, yes, we feel very fortunate to be finding our way here and truly, the boys have been making the very best of their situation; not an easy transition in high school – so proud of them. These nuts make a lovely gift — have fun with them and enjoy!
I would never ever skip sriracha! (maybe only to exchange it for gochujang, the paste I’m addicted to). Your sticky pecans are the most beautiful advertisement for maple syrup (and frankly the photo of the bottle makes the syrup just irresistible…). What a lovely snack idea for Christmas! I think I’ll adapt it to our old European walnuts. I have never played poker…. but I have always wanted to learn it. You have just reminded me! If you feel like coming to Switzerland and give me lessons, you are more than welcome ;-)
Sriracha it is then :) Thank you so much for your kind words Sissi — despite spending my life in Canada, it’s the first time I have ever purchased a pretty bottle like this…I bought a few to bring home as gifts for friends here in California :). Poker is a lot of fun (especially if you don’t take it too seriously – sometimes easier said than done with competitive spirits – heeheeh).
LOVE the sriracha!! Brilliant use. I intended to come here and just gawk at your photos but your writing is equally compelling. So happy to have discovered you and your blog.
thank you so much for stopping by, I’m glad you like this recipe and I appreciate your kind words.
Well, as kids are much older than yours I’d be the only one opening up the Advent calendar! So I now read a daily Advent book, just to keep somewhat of a tradition going! These nuts sound fabulous, I love spicy. I’m planning for Xmas Eve to be casual and playing board games/cards so these nuts will be perfect for serving. Thanks Kelly – happy holidays!
Hey, nothing wrong with having your own personal advent calendar. I would love one myself!! :) I also switch up the content…not always a food item — sometimes it’s a quote, idea or a thought for the day. Try to keep us all growing in other directions ;-). Happy Holidays to you Linda!
I won’t judge you Kelly, if you don’t judge me; we buy a Lindt calendar every year and we don’t even have kids!❤️
I adore spiced nuts and with an upcoming company Christmas party (I’m catering for 16, 4 of whom are vegan and vegetarian), this recipe couldn’t have come at a better time! I’ll definitely add it to the list.
A few years ago we were invited to dinner to friends who have two boys (11 and 14 at the time) and because the Mum doesn’t drink, we brought a game as a hostess gift (Apples to Apples). Well, the boys were very excited to play with us and we all had a fabulous time (it’s actually a great game to play with a variety of ages and we didn’t even have the kids version).
I love the idea of offering a board game as a hostess gift (drinkers or not) and Apples to Apples is such a great game! We have enjoyed playing on many occasions with the boys when they were in that precious age window — we know they will ‘return’ to us someday (or so we are told haha!) we have just temporarily lost their attention to other… things :) all part of the natural evolution.
Let me know if you give the nuts a try Eva — I hope you like them if you do… Enjoy that Lindt calendar — love it!
Pecans ain’t very common over here..and I don’t even see them in ALDI and some other chain supermarkets here . I bet they would be just as delicious as with walnuts. Gorgeous clicks, Kelly.
I’m not sure where you’re located Angie… yes, any nut would certainly be delicious though some will crisp up more than others. Enjoy!
I bet it’s quite confusing seeing roses this time of year when you’re use to several inches (feet) of snow. Wait until you have to turn on the air conditioner on Christmas Day. :) You know you were speaking directly to me when you posted this. Pecans and sriracha…I’m in heaven my dear!!! I have 3 quarts of pecans in the freezer that need some spicing up. Thanks Kelly!
Haha, that would be something turning on the air conditioner over Christmas MJ :) Generally though we find the low humidity in the desert climate keeps things comfortably temperate — we haven’t used an air conditioner since our arrival and lately, we’ve been sparking up both the hot tub and the fireplace during the cool NorCal evenings… cozy!
Not into Sriracha? You jest, I am sure… ;-)
great post, and it gave me a huge smile because Phil just bought the EXACT same bottle of maple syrup and it will be soon in my blog, part of “In My Kitchen” post…
Poker brings me great memories of college times – in Brazil we played classic poker, no variations that I learned later here in the US. But, when it comes to poker, I am a purist. No “follow the Queen” or stuff like that. Maybe if they came up with “Follow the Drama Queen”, I might change my mind… ;-)
Follow the Drama Queen – that made me laugh out loud!!
So no Texas hold’em for you then Sally? :)
I can’t believe Phil found Canadian maple syrup at Marshalls (the nerve of that store! ;-) — I brought a few bottles back to CA from our recent trip to Canada to offer as gifts… I guess I never thought of cms as a coveted item but one of my buddies here was quite interested.
It gets too confusing for me to keep changing one type of poker to another when I have zero experience with them all. Last time we played with members of our department in Oklahoma, I lost so many rounds, that it’s a good thing we were playing for quarters and dimes. (sigh)
Not child powder! lol chili. CHILI!
I dunno. Maybe you’re on to something with the child powder ;-)
I love this idea. I’ve made them with child powder but the idea of using sriracha. Brilliant!
Sounds like you had a nice and relaxing break. In our house we were all sick so we didn’t have much of a choice. Didn’t stop us from eating though ;)
I love these pecans, how delicious they sound! I would most definitely want to keep that Sriracha in there and most definitely would not want to share.
I feel like everyone else is getting ready for the holidays but me. I’m not sure when I turned into such a procrastinator :) XXX
Oh no! Sorry to hear you were sick — that’s no fun. Hope everyone is on the rise :)
Seasonal confusion – haha, I can just imagine! I’d be pretty happy celebrating on both ends too and it sounds like your ‘spirited’ crew made the best of it ;-). Kelly, your roasted pecans look so festive and gorgeous! Interesting about the Sriracha; I feel late to the party and am trying to decide whether this is a taste I would enjoy. I might start with the maple syrup version (I noticed you worked in a lovely looking ‘pure’ Canadian bottle for us) and maybe experiment from there? Love the gift-giving inspiration too and feel like your posts are little masterpieces… The writing, the photography, the recipes — everything comes together beautifully.
Absolutely! Start wherever you feel comfortable and work from there. If you are not familiar with sriracha it is a hot chili sauce that we would quite happily eat on everything :) well, not entirely true; I definitely would not want it on my morning cereal so it depends how you intend to use these caramelized nuts as well. As I mention in the post, I often make the plain maple version for breakfast — I find it ideal for the boys morning porridge ♡ . I hope you enjoy them if you give them a try Elizabeth.