Sweet and Hot Glazed Pecans

It's hard to stop eating these sweet and hot nuts, once you get started. I consider these the Piece de resistance of my Christmas baking season. You can call them pi khans, pi cans, pee khans, or pee cans, even us Southerners can't agree on that one. Whatever you want to call them, it wouldn't be Christmas for me without lots of pecans.

Sweet and Hot Glazed Pecans
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large, heavy cookie sheet. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add pecans and stir until they are coated with the mixture. Spread evenly onto the prepared pan. Bake until pecans are just starting to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Transfer to parchment paper, wax paper, or brown paper, (not paper towels - they will stick) and separate the pecans. Cool completely.