MAPLE PECANS (four cups)

4 cups pecans

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Spread the pecans on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast until they are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let the pecans cool. Lower the oven temperature to 225*.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the pecans with the maple syrup, butter, salt, cayenne and black pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the egg white to the pecans and toss well.

3. Spread the pecans on the lined baking sheets in a single layer. Bake for 1 hour, until the nuts are golden brown. Immediately loosen the pecans from the paper with a spatula. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving. The nuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

adapted from Food and Wine magazine, November, 2011