Some have suggested to use half the water and one person said they didn’t use the water at all. For your current batch, put them in the oven at 300 degrees F for an hour or two to dry them out. Then, move them to the freezer. Sounds strange, but that should harden up the coating.

The water is supposed to help deglaze the nuts and dissolve the sugar, however, I did see some readers comment that they made it without the water and it turned out fine. If you’re willing to try again, maybe try without the water and see what happens. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you the first time you tried it.

Yes, you put the lid on the crockpot when cooking. That’s a great question!

I’m glad the pecans turned out fine for you, even without the water. Thanks for letting us know.

I didn’t add the water turned out fine

When someone else had the same issue, here’s the response to them “It’s possible you have a humid kitchen. Do you happen to live in a humid location? In the future, you can likely cut the liquid in half. For your current batch, put them in the oven at 300 degrees F for an hour or two to dry them out. Then, move them to the freezer. Sounds strange, but that should harden up the coating.”

Lifesaver! Thanks for this comment. I wasn’t sure if a liner would work for this! Thanks so much!

Yes, you can use walnuts instead.