My mom is visiting me from Korea right now and she was craving some Espresso Brownies.  So, a couple days ago, to put in those brownies…I bought some Walnuts and Pecans and Walnuts and Pecans and…was left with too much Walnuts and Pecans!

So i decided to make some Pecan Powder Puff as found in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours (page 156).  She also has a version with walnuts as a side note, so I was able to use both.

Pecan Powder Puffs cooling on the rack

…and I STILL had some left!  So I decided to make some Glazed Walnuts and Pecans to munch on.  I forgot where I got the recipe for the glazed nuts.  It was just scribbled down and tucked in one of the kitchen cabinets.  But these don’t have any butter…and even the eggs, it’s only egg whites!  That means it’s healthy, right?  Okay…maybe not, with all the sugar that goes in it.

Just be aware that these glazed nuts lack the chewiness that other recipes may have, but they come out really crispy and crunchy which was exactly what I was craving!  Although I had written down the recipe for walnuts, I used a mixture of walnuts and left over pecans (after making the powder puffs).

Glazed Walnut Recipe

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground red pepper

1 tsp salt

4 cups toasted walnut halves

1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Have an oiled or nonstick baking sheet ready
3. Toast the walnuts on a skillet (no oil) about 1 minute stirring or shaking the skillet so the nuts don’t burn.  Set aside to cool.
4. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are light and foamy
5. In a separate bowl, mix and whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, red pepper, and salt
6. Gently whisk in the dry mix (step 5) into the egg whites
7. Mix in the nuts to the above mixture, coating all the nuts evenly
8. Spread out evenly in a single layer onto the baking sheet
9. Put in oven for 30 minutes
10. Stir around and bake for 30 more minutes
11. Immediately spread out on wax paper and cool on rack
12. After they are completely cooled, store in airtight container for up to a week.

However, I doubt that they will last that long.  I actually used brown sugar because I ran out of regular ones, and added red pepper flakes because I didn’t have ground ones…and were too lazy to grind them myself.  But I actually loved the spiciness whenever I got the whole flake in the bite.  Next time I make these, I think I’ll actually add more red pepper flakes.

They are also very good as garnish on salads or decorative (and yummy!) additions for all sorts of cookies!