The DIVA of TINY FOODS: CANDIED NUTS and CANDIED PECAN LIQUEUR RECIPE

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CANDIED NUTS and CANDIED PECAN LIQUEUR RECIPE

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CANDIED NUTZ

Here's a great recipe for candied nuts that I made this week. They are totally easy and they taste as good as those expensive candied nuts you buy! Not only that they're fresher because you just made them.

This is the easiest recipe ever and doesn't require any boiling sugar or candy thermometers - you just mix and bake them! They'll keep in a sealed container for a good month but they won't need to - you'll eat them up way before then!

You can do this with any kind of nut you like and you can add spices and flavorings as well! I'm going to try using some Grand Marnier next time instead of the vanilla!

I got so excited about their toasty, caramelized flavor that I have decided to try one of my vodka infusions with them! Here's what I did:

CANDIED PECAN LIQUEUR RECIPE

Ingredients:

1/2 C. Candied Nuts (I used pecans)

8 Oz. 80 Proof Medium Quality Vodka

1/4 C. Sugar

Tools for Infusion: A Blender, An infusion bottle or jar, A funnel

I simply put the candied nuts, sugar and the vodka into my little Magic Bullet blender and hit pulse about 5 or 6 times. I didn't want to grind the nuts too small.
Then I poured this mixture through my funnel into my clean and waiting infusion bottle, labeled it and it's sitting in the fridge distilling!
I will shake the bottle every time I open the fridge for something and I will check the flavor profile every few days until I feel it's reached the flavor strength and mellowness I want.
When it has distilled to my tastes I will filter it to remove all the bits of pecan and detritus from the infusion.

Tools for Filtering: Medium sized metal strainer, several coffee filters, 2 clean glass jars.

Take the strainer and place it over one of your clean glass jars and pour the pecan liqueur through for the first straining step. This will remove the largest pieces.
Do this several times and be patient as the smaller pieces will clog and you'll have to stop and clean the strainer.
With each cleaning of the strainer pour the strained liquid into the other clean jar.
Once all your liqueur is strained for large chunks, clean the strainer then line it with a coffee filter and pour it through this for the smaller particles. You'll do this several times as well. The smaller particles will clog the filter a lot so just pour a bit in and walk away for about 10 minutes or so and when you come back it will have filtered through, then you can throw out the filter and the sediments and repeat until you have filtered all your liqueur.

You will then have a nice jar of clear Nut Liqueur which you can then pour into a pretty bottle and serve or give as a gift!

My Candied Pecan Liqueur will be ready just in time for my birthday on the 14th of January and I'm planning on a special Candied Pecan Martini recipe to celebrate both so check The Martini Diva Blog on January 14th for the results!