These crunchy, sweet, and salty Chocolate Covered Pecans are so addictive that I urge you to try them at your own risk 😉 !! An insanely delicious treat and a ridiculously easy recipe - uses just 2 ingredients!!!
Ingredients
- 140 gms Pecan Halves
- 1/2 cup melted chocolate
- Sea salt for sprinkling
I prefer using rich dark chocolate to make these dark chocolate-covered pecans as I find them to then have a perfect balance of crunchiness, sweetness, and saltiness.
If you like yours to be sweet then you can opt for semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate too.
Should I roast the Pecan or not?
Yes, I highly recommend using roasted pecans for this recipe.
Roasting nuts is a great way to bring out the flavor and make them more enjoyable to eat giving them a classic smoky flavor.
Raw Pecan can sometimes be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside; roasting them ensures that they remain crunchy from the inside out for a really long time.
There are many ways to roast pecans. You can roast them in the oven, on the stovetop, or even in a microwave.
But the best way or to say my personal favourite method: Air Fryer Pecans; as it’s easy to do and you get perfect results every time, gets done in half the time without the risk of getting burnt.
Which chocolate is to be used?
The ideal chocolate is one with a high percentage of cocoa.
Ideally use a bar of good quality chocolate or any that you like eating personally. The only problem with couverture chocolate is that they need to be tempered.
To avoid this use any premium chocolate bars like Lindt, Ghiradelli, Whittaker, Amul, Cadbury, etc. that are already tempered.
All you have to do is melt and reset them.
For ease of convenience, you can also use compound chocolate which is what I have done today. Or you can also use chocolate candy melts.
Avoid using baking chips which are meant to be used in recipes like chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chip cake where they are supposed to hold their shape so they don't melt easily whilst baking.
I prefer the Instant Pot melted chocolate hack (trust me it's the easiest way 😉 ) as it keeps the chocolate in the melted form for a really long.
You can choose to melt the chocolate by placing the bowl of chocolate on top of a double boiler or the microwave method.
To summarise if you want to make the world's finest chocolate-covered pecans, then try and use the best chocolate possible.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Either use store-bought pecans or use the easy method to roast the pecans in the air fryer as mentioned below.
- Spread the pecans in a single layer in the wire basket of your air fryer. Spray with cooking oil and crackle some sea salt on top.
- Air fry at 180°C for 6 mins stirring every 3 mins.
- Allow it to cool completely.
- Once cooled dip pecans in the melted chocolate halfway through' tap your hand gently to remove excess chocolate drip and place in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to set.
- Sprinkle little sea salt on top.
- Or simply drop the pecans into the chocolate so that it is immersed completely. Then using a fork, lift them up, tap to remove excess chocolate, and place them on the baking tray to set them completely.
- Let the baking tray remain at room temperature itself until the chocolate sets. It would take a couple of hours for the chocolate to set well. I do not prefer setting them in the refrigerator because they develop condensation which does not look great.
- Once the chocolate is set you can then store them away.
Just to be clear to dip half of each pecan or to completely coat the pecans with chocolate is totally your choice. Either way, it looks and tastes excellent.
How to serve these chocolate pecans
- Snack: Chocolate Pecan can be served as a great snack on their own either packed in a kid's lunch box or after school snack. A great on-the-go snack idea.
- Trail Mix: They can be added to trail mix with a few other nuts coated with chocolate in a similar way along with seeds like pumpkin seeds.
- Salads - Top it on any of your fancy salads.
- Desserts - You might also find that they taste great with ice cream, smoothies, and yogurt parfaits.
- Add ons - They would make a great addition to your favourite cake or brownie batter.
- Decorator - Use them as a part of the decoration on your cakes.
Storage Instructions
Store these dark chocolate pecans in an airtight container at room temperature. Keep away from moisture and humidity, heat, light, and strong odors. Keeps good for 15 to 30 days at a time.
They also freeze well. But take care to pack them properly. Cling wrap them, place them in a zip lock bag, and then in an air tight container.
Would remain good for 3 months.
Tips for Success
- Use the right tools. An instant pot is ideal for melting chocolate, especially if you’re making a large batch. If your goal is simply to melt chocolate in one go, use a microwave to prepare it that way instead—just be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in short increments so that it doesn't burn!
- Make sure the nuts are dry and completely cooled (if you are roasting it by yourself) before coating them in chocolate: Even just a few drops of water can prevent an entire batch from setting up properly and could even cause your finished product to spoil.
- Try and use Toasted Pecans that are slightly salted to have that crunchy, sweet, and salty mouthfeel.
- Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature if you can as then you can be sure that they would not develop condensation whatsoever and neither would melt in your hands if left out at room temperature for long.
- Pack them in cute gift tins, cellophane bags, mason jars, etc they make a great gift for the holiday season. It is also a great addition to a last-minute party; be it any theme or any time of year.
Variations
There are many ways to go with this pecan recipe. Here are some of the options:
- Use white chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark chocolate for a sweeter treat.
- Try replacing pecans with almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or cashews for something different altogether!
- Or use fruits like apple slices or strawberries to make chocolate-covered strawberries.
- Or core and stuff a strawberry with a roasted pecan and then coat it with melted chocolate to make chocolate-covered strawberries with pecans.
- Coat the pecans with caramel first and then coat them with chocolate to make chocolate-covered caramel pecans. I think these are called turtle pecans.
- To your chocolate add 2 to 3 tbsp of the liqueur of choice. Amaretto is a popular choice when it comes to making chocolate-covered anything.
- Dump all of the pecans into the chocolate. Stir to coat well. Scoop out a tbsp of nuts and place it on the parchment paper to make small clusters. Allow this to set.
Frequently Asked Questions
They last for a good 2 weeks at room temperature, about a month in the fridge, and 3 months in the freezer.
Yes, definitely you can. Just make sure to package them well. First cling wrap them and then place them in a ziplock bag and then into an air-tight container. That its contact with moisture would be minimal and hence would stay fresh for months. Also, the chances of it breaking are also reduce.
Yes, absolutely you can. Follow the same recipe and use any nuts of your choice. No matter which nut you are using slightly dry roasting would uplift its flavor.
Why not.. It is all about experimenting. Feel free to use any flavor of your choice.
Technically you can use raw pecans but I would not recommend that because toasted pecans taste so much better than raw ones. So to answer your query yes you can skip roasting but I recommend doing that extra step.
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How to make Chocolate Covered Pecans recipe
Ingredients
- 140 gms Pecans roasted
- 1/2 cup Melted Chocolate
- Sea Salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Take one pecan at a time and dip them into chocolate half way through.
- Place it on a baking tray that is prelined with parchment paper to set.
- Repeat the steps for a couple of pecans. Then pause to sprinkle sea salt on the pecans before continuing to repeat the steps with remaining pecans.
Video
Notes
- You can follow any method of choice for roasting nuts - oven, stove-top, microwave, or my favourite Air Fryer Pecans.
- Lay the nuts in a single layer in the wire basket of your Air Fryer. Spray with some cooking spray and sprinkle some salt over it.
- Stir the pecans to coat it well and then air fry at 180°C for 6 mins stirring every 3 mins.
- Allow it to cool completely before proceeding with the above recipe.
- You can also use store-bought roasted pecans for this recipe.
- Use the right tools. An instant pot is ideal for melting chocolate, especially if you’re making a large batch. If your goal is simply to melt chocolate in one go, use a microwave to prepare it that way instead—just be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in short increments so that it doesn't burn!
- Make sure the nuts are dry and completely cooled (if you are roasting it by yourself) before coating them in chocolate: Even just a few drops of water can prevent an entire batch from setting up properly and could even cause your finished product to spoil.
- Try and use Toasted Pecans that are slightly salted to have that crunchy, sweet, and salty mouthfeel.
- Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature if you can as then you can be sure that they would not develop condensation whatsoever and neither would melt in your hands if left out at room temperature for long.
- Pack them in cute gift tins, cellophane bags, mason jars, etc they make a great gift for the holiday season. It is also a great addition to a last-minute party; be it any theme or any time of year.
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