Every pastry chef and chocolatier loves nuts. Okay, maybe not every one, but I've never met one who doesn't. I've also never met a nut I don't like and most of the time my favorite way to eat them is straight out of the shell, unadulterated. But when we're talking about crack nuts, well, I can eat those all day long and they're covered in sugar.
The proper name is simply candied, but these are made differently than the ones most people are familiar with that are tossed in sugar and roasted. I've never cared much for those because of the sandy texture and raw flavor of sugar. These, on the other hand, have an even caramelized sugar coating around each nut and I promise you, once you eat one, you won't be able to stop.
The instructions may seem unfamiliar, but truly anyone can make these. Even heat and constant stirring is all it takes. You'll see the sugar go from liquid to sandy to liquid again, then finally the gorgeous caramel glassiness that shatters in your mouth ever so slightly when you pop them in your mouth. Kind of like the sugar cap on creme brûlée. Mmm...
You can add any number of spices to them, jar them, gift them, hide them for emergencies or unforgiving hoarding. Extras can be paired with a cheese plate for a simple summer dinner or as a garnish as these little beauties were for wedding favors. A traditional way of finishing them, known as dragées, is to coat them in thin layers of chocolate and tossing them in cocoa powder or powdered sugar. I like them just the way they are, like Billy Joel said.
Crack Nuts
2 oz sugar
2t water
6 oz pecans or almonds
pat of butter
Place sugar in a heavy bottomed pan ~4 qt (wider is better than narrow and deep).
Add water to make the sugar look like wet sand.
Heat on high until the sugar starts to boil. Add the nuts.
Turn the heat to medium and continue stirring evenly. It will go from glossy to sandy in a couple minutes. Keep stirring but gently to not break the nuts.
As the sugar coating starts to melt, make sure to stir the nuts evenly so they don't burn as they begin to brown. The sugar on the nuts will soon start to caramelize and continue cooking until every nut is coated in caramelized sugar.
Off the heat, add a pat of butter and coat evenly (if adding spices, add now and toss).
Turn the nuts onto a parchment lined sheet pan or one that is lightly sprayed with oil. With gloves, separate each nut and set aside to cool.
Munch and try to resist eating them all in one sitting.
If you don't eat them all, place them in an airtight jar or bag with some desiccant to keep them from getting sticky.
