Milk and sugar are cooked down slowly into a thick caramel-colored paste, then loaded with toasted chopped pecans. Rolled into small balls and coated in cinnamon sugar, the candies are soft and fudgy with nutty crunch in every bite. Makes 36 pieces in about 6 hr 50 min.
Prep30 min
Cook100 min
Cooling4 hr 40 min
Total
6 hr 50 min
Yield
36 pieces
DietGluten free
Ingredients
Adjust yield
pieces
Scales from a half to a double batch; give a bigger batch a little more time.
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and a shade darker, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool, then chop finely. Turn off the oven.
In a wide, heavy 4-quart (4 L) pot, stir together the whole milk, the 300 g of granulated sugar for the candy, the baking soda and the salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves; it will foam up briefly.
Lower the heat to a steady gentle simmer and cook, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom, until reduced by about two-thirds and turning light caramel, about 1 hour.
Clip on a candy thermometer and keep cooking, stirring constantly, until the paste is thick, caramel-colored, pulls away from the bottom of the pot and reads 236°F (113°C), 20 to 30 minutes more.
Take the pot off the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and the chopped pecans and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and loses some of its gloss, 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape it into a bowl and let it cool until firm enough to shape and comfortable to handle, 30 to 40 minutes.
Mix the 50 g of granulated sugar for the coating with the ground cinnamon in a shallow dish. Roll the candy into 36 balls of about 1 tablespoon (17 g) each and roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar.
Set the candies on parchment or in paper candy cups and let them firm up at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Tips
Keep the heat moderate during the long simmer; the color should come slowly, without scorching on the bottom.
If the mixture is too soft to roll after cooling, chill it for 20 minutes; if it cracks, knead in a few drops of warm milk.
Lightly dampen or butter your hands so the candy does not stick while rolling.
Use a candy thermometer and cook to 236°F (113°C). The hot candy causes serious burns; let it cool before shaping by hand.
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How long does it take to make dulce de nuez (mexican pecan milk candy)?
Plan on 30 minutes of prep and 1 hour 40 minutes of cooking, plus 4 hours 40 minutes to rest. The recipe makes 36 pieces.
How should I store dulce de nuez (mexican pecan milk candy)?
Wrap individually in waxed paper or cellophane and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or refrigerate up to 3 weeks.
Can I make dulce de nuez (mexican pecan milk candy) ahead?
It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.
Can I use a different form of vanilla?
Yes. This recipe uses 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml). Each teaspoon of pure vanilla extract can be swapped for 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, the seeds of half a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder. Paste and seeds add the classic dark specks.
Pecan milk candies like the glorias of Linares, Nuevo León, are made across northern Mexico by slowly cooking milk with sugar until it turns into a thick caramel paste, then working in chopped pecans and shaping small balls. Serve it with café de olla.
Variations
Walnut version: use 1 1/2 cups (150 g) walnuts in place of the pecans, toasted the same way; cook time unchanged.
Orange-zest version: stir 1 tsp (2 g) finely grated orange zest in with the vanilla; cook time unchanged.
Goat's milk version: use 2 cups (500 ml) goat's milk and 2 cups (500 ml) whole milk instead of all cow's milk for a cajeta-like tang, as in the glorias of Linares; cook time about the same.
Pecan-topped squares: press the beaten candy into a buttered 8-inch (20 cm) square pan, top with pecan halves, set 3 hours and cut into 25 squares.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 36 servings this recipe makes.
84Calories / serving
4.0gFat
11.8gCarbs
1.3gProtein
11.4gSugar
Whole recipe (36 servings):
~3024 cal ·
144g fat ·
425g carbs ·
47g protein ·
410g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
Made with VanillaGoods
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