I'm so pleased I'm going to be able to serve a low-carb version of my family's favorite holiday candy! This came out GREAT (after two tries):



This recipe is not acceptable until the nuts and seeds rung of OWL. Read details of how this came about and my difficulties with my first attempt here: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/1...er-pecan-candy/

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ c. erythritol, powdered
2 T. hazelnut sugar-free syrup
2 T. caramel sugar-free syrup
¼ tsp. vanilla
2 sticks butter, unsalted
2 T. water
Dash salt
1/2 c.+ 2 T. polydextrose
2 c. pecan halves, chopped coarsely

DIRECTIONS: Liberally butter a 12½ x 17½ sheet pan (mine is non-stick, but still butter it!). Chop the pecans and place in a bowl and set by the stove top. Powder the erythritol in a food processor if you are using granular. Using a large saucepan (3-4 qt.), melt the butter over medium-high heat. Place a saucer of cold water beside the stove. Add the erythritol, polydextrose, vanilla, both syrups, water and salt to the saucepan and whip with a whisk. It will eventually get smooth (add a T. more water if not) as you bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. As with most candy-making, you should stir the mixture continuously throughout the preferably with a whisk. The mixture will slowly change from a slightly yellowish color to a tan and eventually dark caramel color when it is ready. When the color starts to go browner, drop a few drops of mix in the water and see if it will clump together when you try to form a ball with your finger. If it won’t, keep cooking and stirring. Repeat the ball test in fresh water again in a few minutes. When it will clump into a clump, feels pretty stiff but is still a little pliable, the mixture has cooked long enough. Remove from heat. Very quickly stir in the chopped pecans. Working just as fast as you can, pour it onto the greased sheet pan, spreading quickly with a rubber spatula out to the edges of the pan. It will set up real fast, so you really must work quickly. I have never been able to work fast enough to be able to mark off square pieces with a knife, but maybe you’re faster than I. When it is fully set (about an hour) , lift it up with the edge of a metal spatula and break into pieces. Store in a VERY air-tight container at room temperature, as humidity (even in a refrigerator) really messes this candy up. It will get softer and grainy if it gets damp. If in an air-tight enough container, I found mine got a little more brittle on day 2, which pleased me greatly.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Because I can’t know how your pieces will break up, an exact nutritional count is virtually impossible for this candy. So I will give you the info for the entire pan full and you will have to estimate based on your pieces. I got around 100 1″ pieces, maybe more, I’d guess, which made mine averaged around .18 net carbs per piece, or 5 pieces for 1 NC. Some pieces broke small, some broke off larger. Although per piece counts are impossible, clearly the count is so low (since polydextrose if full of deductible fiber), I never worry about it. Basically only the pecans really rack up the few carbs that are in this.

Entire batch contains:

3233 calories
339 g fat
139 carbs, 121 g fiber, only 18 NET CARBS (for the entire batch!!)
22 g protein
199 mg sodium
939 mg potassium

I recently learned the addition of a bit of isomalt for some of the erythritol will possibly make this candy crunchier. But I found this came out quite crunchy and just about my Mom's original candy in "crunchiness". I may try the isomalt suggestion one day (if I ever buy some) to see what that actually does to this candy.