Stay away from my brownies and cookies!

Among our many leftovers from Thanksgiving weekend are 2 large bags of pecans. We bought them from my mother-in-law for her chorus fundraiser. While I am obsessed with baking, I am just as obsessed with keeping nuts out of my baked goods. Nothing pains me more than biting into a seemingly pristine chocolate chip cookie, only to find NUTS. But I do like snacking on them, so I think I'm going to try this recipe (modified a bit from recipecottage.com):

Sugar-coated pecans

1 tablespoon egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pecan halves purchased from your mother-in-law
1/4 cup sugar (I'm going to use Splenda)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add vanilla and stir. Toss pecans in the egg white mixture, then sprinkle the coated nuts with sugar and cinnamon. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until the pecans are browned. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on waxed paper.