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An epic maple pecan paste, made with stovetop candied pecans. Spiced maple pecans blitzed to a nut butter, makes for the perfect tea time accompaniment to a scone, a spread for bread or a topping for toast.
This recipe requires two stages:
- Make the stovetop candied maple pecans.
- Then, use a food processor to make the nut butter.
Ingredients for Spiced Maple Pecans
The ingredients for maple pecans can really be as easy and simple as maple syrup and pecan halves. But, to give it a little spice, my recipe calls for:
- Maple syrup
- Pecans
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- Smoked paprika
Spices that work well with pecans
Pecans work well with many spices! My personal favourite is cinnamon (especially in the autumn), but you can also incorporate:
- Nutmeg
- Ginger
- Cloves
- Mixed spice or pumpkin spice mix
- More spicy flavours like chilli or paprika
Making Candied Pecans Stovetop
Maple candied nuts on the stovetop couldn't be easier - simply add all ingredients to a shallow saucepan. This should ideally be non-stick to avoid any issues as the syrup reduces.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring to help the spices dissolve and ensure you coat all pecans well in the syrup. Then, continue cooking for about 20 minutes.
The syrup will go through a few stages - first it will begin to thicken, then will become quite sticky. As it reduces, you are looking for it to begin crystallising. You want to avoid the nuts catching on the heat, so continue to stir occasionally.
Since this recipe is intended for making a nut paste, you don't need them to be completely dry crystallised (and this recipe calls for more maple syrup that you would use for just standard candied pecans).
When the nuts start to crystallise and your syrup is well reduced, tip the pecans out onto a piece of parchment to cool for at least half an hour.
Now, you can feel free to snack on them a bit, but be careful of the hot syrup!
Easy Pecan Nut Butter
Once you have your candied pecans (and these are cool), you are ready to make your pecan paste!
All that is needed at this stage is a food processor. Place all of your nuts into the bowl of the food processor and begin to blitz. Run this on high for about 5 minutes or until you've reached your desired consistency.
Due to the amount of syrup in these nuts and the cooking process they've been through, they will break down far quicker than nut butters made of pure nut, like my pistachio paste.
FAQs for Pecan Paste
Pecan paste should be stored in an airtight container or jar. This does not need to be sealed, like with canning jams or preserves. For best shelf-life, keep in the refrigerator.
You can keep nut butters for several weeks or even a few months, if they are stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Technically yes, you can freeze this pecan paste. But, as nut butters last well outside of the freezer, freezing does not extend the shelf life.
If you've not reduced the syrup enough, it is possible that there will be too much liquid left in the recipe when you are using the food processor. This can be fixed by adding some additional pecans (plain pecans straight from the package will work, or lightly roasted if you have a little time). This should help to thicken the nut butter.
Do be aware that nut butters tend to separate a little, so don't be alarmed if it looks a little on the runny side.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Candied Pecan Paste
Ingredients
- 2 cups pecans
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Begin by adding all ingredients to a shallow non-stick saucepan. Place on the stove over a medium heat stirring occasionally until the spices dissolve.
- Bring to a boil, continuing to stir as the mixture thickens. The syrup will become sticky and then begin to crystallise on the nuts.
- Once the syrup has reduced and crystallised on the nuts, tip these out onto parchment paper to cool for about half an hour.
- Add the nuts to the bowl of a food processor and blitz on high until a paste. Due to the nuts being cooked with a high syrup content, this should only take a few minutes.
- Decant into a bowl or jar and store in the refrigerator.
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Liz Mincin
Thanks so much! Glad it was useful!
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