Whether you’re making these to snack on, add to salads, or gifting them as a Christmas hostess gift, these are my all time favorite spiced nut recipe. It’s my favorite winter holiday treat to make and the best part, it’s super quick and easy to make.

Ingredients (Makes 4 Cups):

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
4 cups pecan halves (1x 1lb bag)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Using a silicone baking mat, spray with a little Pam.
In a large skillet, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat.
Add brown sugar, 1/4 cup of water, salt, and the five-spice powder; stir until sugar dissolves.
Add nuts to sugar mixture and cook until syrup thickly coats nuts, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
Transfer nuts to prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Notes:

As a Hostess Gift: If you are preparing these for a hostess gift, I got these vintage looking glass jars at my local grocery store (Wegmans). It elevates the gift and presentation just slightly.

Snack & Salad Option: I love these as a snack; but a great combo is on salads. My go-to is a spinach salad with these spiced pecans, cucumber, apple, crumbled goat cheese, cranberries, and croutons.

Alterations: Sub pecans for walnuts or almonds if you’d like!