The health benefits of nuts have been well-documented, and many people are making a conscious effort to add more nuts to their diets. We are among that number, and usually have a large container of unsalted nuts in the pantry for snacking. Although The Davis Mountains Nut Company does offer fresh, healthy pecans, we received some of their gourmet candied nuts as a Christmas gift. Delicious? Yes. Healthy? Maybe not as much as our usual unsalted nuts. Since we firmly believe any foods can be enjoyed in moderation, we are happily pacing ourselves through the four flavors we received: Praline, Vanilla Almond, Cinnamon Toast, and Sassy Sinamen.
Gus and David Billing started their West Texas gourmet pecan company after wowing friends and family with their vanilla almond pecans. The Billing brothers developed a three-step process in which pecans are first marinated in flavored syrups, then roasted , and finally hand-dipped in sugar-based flavored coatings. That pretty much explains the deliciousness. We opened the brown sugar and molasses coated Praline Pecans first. These pecans had the consistency of crumbly creole pralines you might find in New Orleans, rather than the creamy pralines Karen and her mom make so very well. Still, they were sweet and tasty.
Vanilla Almond Pecans
Allen thought the Vanilla Almond Pecans were completely amazing. I was a little skeptical about adding almond flavoring to my all-time favorite nut, but this combination really works! Eating the Cinnamon Toast Pecans was like having the cinnamon, brown sugar and pecan streusel topping from a coffee cake without the cake. Yep, they were that good.
My favorite flavor was definitely Sassy Sinamen, which has chili pepper added to the Cinnamon Toast Pecans. It starts sweet and ends with a spicy burn. Love it! Gus and David have even more yummy-sounding flavors: Key Lime, Orange Twang, Mocha Madness, Hot-N-Spicy, and Chocolate. They pride themselves on using quality Texas pecans to produce gift-worthy snacks. They operate a small retail store on Main Street in Fort Davis, Texas, about 80 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border, if you happen to be in the neighborhood. They also have an online store where you can shop for gifts, or for yourself! Our gift arrived safely in a sturdy box with a nice handwritten card. The fresh pecans pictured on the company’s website look delicious, and would be great to have on hand for baking.
Foods We Love 