What to use instead of pecans
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
Advertisement
Toasted nut for crunch and fat in a batter
The high oil content makes them soft-crunchy rather than hard, and toasting drives off moisture so they stay crisp surrounded by wet batter.
Walnuts, toasted and rubbed of their skinsRan out
1:1 by weight
More tannic and faintly bitter unless you rub the skins off, and they hold a firmer crunch.
Hazelnuts, toasted and skinnedRan out
1:1 by weight
A harder crunch and a strong roasted flavour that takes over a mild batter like carrot cake.
Macadamias, choppedRan out
1:1 by weight
Sweeter and much softer, with a buttery flavour and far less browning on the cut faces.
Toasted pumpkin or sunflower seedsNut-free
1:1 by weight
Crunchier and drier with a green roasted flavour, and they stay crisp in a bar longer than any nut does.
What doesn't work: Raw nuts straight from the bag. Untoasted they carry moisture and their oils taste flat, so they go soft in the batter and add texture without adding flavour.
Nut set into a sugar syrup or a candy
It has to hold its shape and its crunch inside hot syrup, and the oil coming out of it is part of why a praline sets soft rather than as hard candy.
WalnutsRan out
1:1 by weight
The skins make the syrup taste more bitter, and pralines set a shade harder.
Blanched toasted almondsRan out
1:1 by weight
A much harder crunch that survives the syrup better, and the result eats closer to nougatine than praline.
Roasted unsalted peanutsRan out
1:1 by weight
It becomes a peanut brittle in flavour, with more bite and none of the buttery softness.
Toasted pumpkin seedsNut-free
1:1 by weight
They stay crisp in the syrup and taste green and savoury, and the candy sets harder because less oil comes out.
What doesn't work: Bagged pecan baking bits. They are broken small and often stale, so in a pie they sink through the custard into a soft layer at the bottom instead of setting as a crust on top.
Ground nut that shortens a crumb
Ground nuts bring fat and no gluten, so they cut the flour's structure and give a cookie that crumbles rather than bends.
Ground walnutsRan out
1:1 by weight
More tannic and the dough goes greyer, with the same crumbly texture in the finished cookie.
Almond flourRan out
1:1 by weight
Finer and sweeter with less oil in it, so the cookie is drier and holds a rounder shape.
Ground toasted sunflower seedsNut-free
1:1 by weight
Greener and slightly bitter, and the dough can turn green where it meets baking soda.
What doesn't work: Nuts run in a food processor past about a minute. The oil comes out and you get paste, so the dough turns greasy and the cookies spread flat instead of holding a ball.