Southern Roasted Pecans
                                  Makes 4 cups

 

 3 cups pecan halves       
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 2 egg whites              
 1 cup sugar
 1 stick butter, melted

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour melted butter into large (2-inch deep) baking sheet. Place pecans in pan and stir to coat nuts with butter. Roast pecans for 10 minutes (no longer or they will burn. Stir and let cool, while preparing remaining ingredients. Lower oven to 325 degrees. Beat egg whites until soft peaks are formed (this is the secret to this recipe - anything less than soft peaks will make nuts over sweet & gritty). Add cinnamon to sugar until blended, then gradually beat into egg whites. Continue to beat until the mixture is the consistency of a soft merugine. Fold nuts into mixture, until nuts are coated. Spread coated nuts into same baking sheet used to roast pecans (do not clean pan). Bake nuts for 10 minutes, stir nuts, then bake another 10 minutes, stir once more and bake the last 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir nuts, then let cool 10 minutes and stir again. Finish cooling pecans in baking sheet. Once pecans are completely cool, they can be stored in tightly covered jars or cans for up to a month. Also, freezes well up to 3 months.

 

NOTE: You can use sweet pickles, if you really feel strongly about it, but I would then omit the olives, unless you want a sweet, salty taste.