Boil a cup of sugar and one fourth cup of water to the hard-crack, or caramel degree. Do not stir after the sugar is dissolved. Wash down the grains of sugar thrown up in cooking as in making fondant. When the proper degree is reached add a few drops of lemon juice. Have ready pecan nuts, English walnuts or blanched almonds, heated without browning. Drop the nuts, one at a time, into the cooked sugar; without stirring the sugar, coat the nut and lift out on to an oiled or confectioner's paper. It is necessary to work very quickly. Reheat the sugar when needed. When it becomes too thick add a few drops of water and cook again to the correct degree.

Crystallized Nuts Recipe

Boil the sugar to the crack stage, dip as above, then roll while hot in coarse granulated sugar. The hard-crack degree, 310° Fahr., is the last stage before the syrup takes color.