I realize that I’m a few days late for writing a post about an easy party snack that takes very little effort, is tremendously delicious, and is great for sharing since it is HIGHLY addictive and calorie-dense. My bad.

But lucky for us, there are more reasons to celebrate and indulge coming right up. Valentines Day! The Olympics! Saturday!

If you don’t have a good roasted nut recipe in your arsenal, this is an excellent candidate. I’ve previously relied quite heavily on these little gems, but I’m glad to now have another that doesn’t scream “HOLIDAYS!” quite so loudly. You can use any mix of nuts you like: I had planned to only use cashews and tossed in pecans on a whim, but I now think I like the pecans even more than the cashews.

This is pretty simple stuff: preheat oven, mix the nuts with some goop, try not to burn them in the oven. In fact that last part might be the most challenging. I dropped the temp of the oven from the original recipe because I (gasp) burned the crap out of my first batch. Pecans are especially susceptible to burning, so keep a sharp eye.

The result is a pile of shiny, glazed pecans and cashews that is a pleasant, slightly savory departure from your average honey-roasted fare. Best of luck keeping them around for very long.

Savory Honey-Glazed Nuts
Adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 c roasted & salted cashews
1 c raw pecan halves
1/4 c honey
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp ground yellow mustard
a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together honey, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Add nuts and mix well until all nuts are coated. Spread nuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper.

Bake for 10 minutes, then stir the nuts, then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove nuts from the oven and immediately sprinkle lightly with salt. Allow the nuts to cool completely. Once you store them, the nuts will stick together slightly, but shouldn’t be sticky on your fingers.

Okay you guys.

I’ve done something. Changed something. Opened some sort of magic box, some secret portal to a new world. And now that I’ve glimpsed the other side, I rather doubt I’ll be the same again.

It all started with an innocent breakfast suggestion. On my recent winter escape to Oregon, all we wanted was a place to eat one misty Wednesday morning in Portland. Instead, we ordered a plate of food that, rather than fading from my memory as most meals do, has haunted my daydreams ever since.

It was praline bacon. And within moments of eating it, I knew that I wanted to, nay, that I must!  try to recreate it at home. This weekend I finally had the time, the health, and the daylight. It took four failed attempts, but I finally found the balance I was looking for. And the best part It’s so absurdly, ridiculously easy.

Obviously, we start with bacon. Then we have pecans, maple syrup, brown sugar, a little salt, and some cayenne pepper.

THAT IS ALL, PEOPLE.

Instead of pan-frying the bacon, I baked mine. It helps the bacon stay flat (necessary for topping with sugary pecans later) and the excess fat drains into the pan below. I may actually start making all of my bacon this way.

While the bacon cooks, chop up some pecans. I’ve seen some versions where the pecans are food-processed into oblivion, but I prefer a larger cut. Smaller than a rough chop but bigger than a fine chop, does that make sense About the size of a tooth (Is that gross?)

With the pecans, mix in the brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper, and salt. I know, it sounds crazy to add a little sea salt to a mixture that is going to be slathered across notoriously salty bacon, but I really thought it helped to balance out the sugary-sweetness of the topping.

After about 20 minutes in the oven, the bacon won’t be done but it will be ready for its glorious topping. Don’t be tempted to let the bacon cook to completion before you add the pecans, though: if you do, you’ll have nothing but rock solid strips of bacon-flavored cardboard topped with sticky pecans.

Past this, you will only have to wait a few more minutes. I baked my bacon for another eight minutes or so, just enough to toast the pecans and cook the sugars a bit.

The finished product is unbelievable. Slightly chewy, slightly crunchy from the pecans, salty, sweet, rich… it’s just everything. It’s quite delicious warm, which is how we ate it that fateful morning in Portland. But I’ve found I like it even better at room temperature or even cold. And it you want to pretend that you’re not eating half a pound of bacon all my your onesie, chop it into pieces and put it out for your colleagues like an honest-to-god bowl of candy.

It will not last long.

Maple Praline Bacon
Inspired by a delectable meal at Screen Door

Note: I am hesitant to call for “thick-cut” bacon here. In this age of bacon obsession, I’ve seen bacon nearly half an inch thick marketed as “thick-cut”. On the other hand, this is not the time for cheap, lunchmeat-section bacon so thin you can barely pull it apart. I recommend getting your bacon from the butcher or meat counter for the perfect happy medium.

8 strips thick-ish bacon
3/4 c pecan halves, chopped fairly small
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1/3 c maple syrup + additional for brushing
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Lay the bacon on the cooling rack with a bit of space between each piece and bake for 15-20 minutes. The fat should not be completely rendered by the time you remove it from the oven.

While the bacon cooks, chop pecans and combine them in a bowl with the sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, and cayenne. Mix well. If the mixture is crumbly, add a bit more maple syrup until it forms a thick, liquidy sludge of deliciousness.

Remove pan and flip each piece of bacon over. Brush each piece of bacon with maple syrup, then flip the strips back over. Carefully spread the pecan mixture on each piece of bacon. Return to the oven for 5-8 more minutes.

Serve hot. Or at room temperature. Or cold, it’s REALLY good when it’s cold. Serve it in whole strips, or cool it down and chop it into squares to serve as candy.

I haven’t baked much since I spent four days in early October creating two massive cakes for Sierra’s wedding. So it might seem rather surprising that the first time I pull out my cake pans after such a project, it’s to reprise the very recipes I used for the largest tier of the wedding cake. I, however, am not surprised, as I have been wanting to share this recipe in a normal, human-sized dessert that you can make for you and your family instead of a full wedding guest list.

Before autumn wanes completely, I urge you to make this cake. This cake is rich, moist, and full of pumpkin flavor. This maple cream is studded with these sugared pecans (easily my favorite discovery of the season) and compliments the spicy cake perfectly. And for layer cake, this is pretty easy! No icing to smooth, no crumbs to worry about, no delicate folding dry ingredients into the batter, no piping. You can totally do this.

And while we’re taking this moment to bake, I would be remiss not to introduce the newest member of my little kitchen family. See that gorgeous red KitchenAid peeking out from behind the ingredients It’s mine! A beautiful gift from my mom, waiting for me when I went to Colorado to bake the wedding cake, it has now made its way across the country to live with me in Durham. I confess, I got a little emotional selling my original KitchenAid (which I’ve been using since the age of 10) to a friend, but I know it has a good home. So here’s a warm welcome to new, red mixer!

Once the pumpkin cake is out of the pans and cooling, the fabulous icing begins. First, the pecans. I’ve made these nuts for almost every social gathering I’ve attended or hosted in the last two months, and I have many batches of them planned for the holiday season, as well. If you’re whipping up this cake, be sure to make the full batch of pecans: you’ll lose quite a few to taste-testing

Finally, the maple cream. This icing is truly beautiful. While it’s not ideal for piping, it’s a dream to spread and thickens up well once it cools. I desperately want to try it sandwiched between sugar cookies. But that’s a test for another day. Today, its fate is the dressing for pumpkin cake.

Then these three recipes, totally delicious on their own, come together to create a pretty little dessert of pure autumn.

PS: Six-inch layers are SO much easier to work with than fourteen-inch layers. This felt like hardly any effort at all.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream & Sugared Pecans

Makes one, 6-inch three-layer cake OR one, 8-inch two-layer cake

For the Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from About.com

1 1/2 c sugar
3/8 c oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/8 tsp ground ginger
3/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 c pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans with pan coating.

Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer or other large bowl and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together into a separate bowl. Mix dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add pumpkin and mix well.

Pour batter into cake pans in even amounts, about 1 1/2 cups of mixture per pan (2 1/4 c if using two 8-inch pans). Wrap a damp, thin strip of tea towel around each cake pan and tie tightly. Bake cakes for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick removes cleanly and cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Allow cakes to rest in their pans for 3-5 minutes, then carefully flip them onto cooling racks. Allow cakes to cool completely, then store in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.

For the Maple Cream
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 c maple syrup
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 c powdered sugar, sifted after measuring

Place butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once butter has melted, stir in maple syrup. Allow mixture to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat and pour maple butter into a small dish. Allow to cool to room temperature, placing it in the fridge if you want to speed the process up.

Beat the room temperature cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add sifted powdered sugar to the bowl and beat until well-combined, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour in the maple butter and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

For the Sugared Pecans

Prepare one batch of Sugar ‘n’ Spiced Pecans as directed. Allow to cool completely.

Set aside half of the pecans. Place the remaining pecans on a cutting board and roughly chop into pieces no larger than 1/2″ across.

Assembly

Add chopped pecans to the well-beaten maple cream. Stir well until pecans are evenly distributed throughout maple cream.

If cake layers are not level, slice them across the top with a bread knife until they each layer is level. Place one layer of cake on a plate or cake stand, top-side down. Spread a generous layer of icing  (about 1/3 of the icing) over the top surface of the cake, leaving about 1/4″ of space between the icing and the edge of the cake.

Carefully place the next layer of cake onto the iced bottom layer and repeat the icing with the second third of the icing.

Place the final layer of cake on the middle layer and spread remaining icing onto the entire top surface of the cake.

Use the un-chopped pecans to adorn the cake however you see fit. I mounded about half of them on the center of the cake and used the remainder as a border for the bottom layer.

Refrigerate until 30 minutes before ready to serve.

To kick off my favorite season here at 30 Pounds of Apples, I have something for you. I was trying to wait. I thought these would be good to share right when you are planning treats for Halloween parties. Maybe around Thanksgiving Or do I dare wait until the holiday season?

But they’re too good. I simply couldn’t wait to share this secret with you, because it will change your world. At least, it will change your world if you have pecans on hand and a deep or even moderate love of those tasty nuts that cost $10 a cone at any given festival or county fair. I’m here to report that you may never buy those again. Why?

Because you can make them yourself! And they are dangerously, frighteningly easy.

I must confess, I had never considered making these little gems myself until I started pulling together recipes for this little wedding cake project I’m working on. I sort of expected them to be a challenge. After all, the first few recipes I ran across involved oil and frying and a precise level of humidity. Yikes. It seemed like a difficult process. But this particular recipe involves none of those pesky hurdles.

Pecans are first tossed in a little mixture of egg white, water, and vanilla. They just need a little bath so the really good stuff can stick to them.

The good stuff being sugar and spice (don’t pretend you didn’t just say “and everything nice” in your head).

Once the pecans are thoroughly coated in the sugar and spice (you did it again), they’re in for a quick ride in the oven.

And suddenly, magic. You should, of course, allow these to cool about after they come out of the oven, but you truly must try some while they are still warm. After that, they will make fantastic party snacks and beautiful gifts. And you can keep them for up to two weeks before they start to soften! But I can offer a 99% guarantee that they won’t last that long.

Sugar ‘n’ Spiced Pecans

Adapted from Simply Recipes

1/2 c granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg white
1 T water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c pecan halves

Preheat oven to 300ºF and line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly grease aluminum foil with cooking spray or canola oil.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and mix well. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together egg white, water, and vanilla extract until it become foamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add pecans to the egg white mixture and toss until all pecans are coated. Using a slotted spoon, lift coated pecans into the sugar mixture. Use a fork to gently stir the pecans into the sugar mixture until all pecans are coated. Be careful not to over mix or the sugar will begin to flake off of the pecans.

Spread pecans evenly over the lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Mix and turn pecans with a fork and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. You may have to break apart some of the pecans, as they may be stuck together with additional sugar.

Store pecans in an airtight container for up to two weeks. After that point, they will begin to soften.