Sweet and Spicy Pecans (Failure)

Our friend Johnny is allergic to nuts and puppies. It's a pretty sad life he has - not really, but I think Brent would seriously dump me if I were allergic to Beagle puppies.  Anyhow, partly because I need to finish some dishes during my evenings (keep in mind Thanksgiving is 3 days away!) and mainly because of Johnny's food allergies, I prepared the pecans today. Well they turned out to be a failure: a bit salty (and I only used 2/3) and burnt.  Another good reason to start the cooking process early, gives you time to find another recipe and start over.  For now I'll be soaking my baking sheets to get the burnt-sugary-pecan mess off of them. 

SWEET AND SPICY PECANS
-Adapted from Parade (November 16, 2008) magazine
-Serves 8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I only used 1 teaspoon)
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I only used 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
1 egg white
2 cups pecan halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Mix the sugar and spices together in a small bowl, set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white lightly with a fork.  Toss in the pecans and stir to coat. 
4. Coat each pecan half one by one evenly with spice mixture.
5. Transfer coated pecan to a baking sheet, separating them as best you can.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
7. Cool for 5 minutes.
8. Transfer pecans to another baking sheet, breaking pecans apart as necessary, let cool completely.
9. Keep covered in a dry place.

Pecans will stay fresh for 5 days in an airtight container.