Food Gift Idea: Ancho Chili Pecans

Merry Christmas everyone! I was lucky enough to see a few snowflakes at my parent’s house in Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve, although today on the actual day of Christmas it is very mild and the beautiful snow is melting quickly. We are sitting around in the living room while the ham cooks in the kitchen, stuffing our faces with all kinds of Christmas goodies, drinking coffee, and trying to figure out when exactly is an appropriate time to start drinking. My feeling is that it’s Christmas, so there is no point in the day that is too early for a cocktail.

And of course, if you’re going to have a holiday cocktail, you should also have some nice holiday snacks to squeeze in between the other six meals we eat on Christmas. My contribution to the in-between meal munchies this year are Ancho Chili Pecans. Delicious and simple to make, you can whip them up in a corner of the oven you’re not using (or make them a few days in advance). Please enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas!

Ancho Chili Pecans

Ingredients
2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground ancho chili powder
1 tsp kosher or sea salt (or to taste)

Directions
Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil; set aside. In a medium bowl combine pecan halves, maple syrup, and oil. Stir in sugar and chile powder until evenly coated, then sprinkle with salt. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake, uncovered, in a 250ºF oven for 45 minutes, stirring twice. Spread on a large piece of foil to cool. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 month.