Pralines

Let me state an obvious point here: If I can make these, anyone can, with proper instruction, of course. Prior to attending the New Orleans School of Cooking class back in November, I could not make that statement. Y'all know my dessert/sweet baking skills are limited. That is a good thing. But now that I see how easy it is to make these, I may be in trouble.

Notice the size of the pecans in the picture.

Andy picked up the pecans for me and I should have chopped them a little finer. Nobody complained about the size of the pecans. They all agreed they tasted like "more" and were glad to test any additional batches I made. These things melt in your mouth.

My patience has been tested to the extreme this past year. Learning to make a roux and pralines has been a good exercise for me. There are some things you can't rush. I highly recommend purchasing a candy thermometer. You can test the soft ball stage with water but why? I ruined my 30 year old thermometer, that had been used twice, when I put it in the dishwasher. I went ahead and purchased another one the next day to be prepared for another batch.

A few things I took away from the class:

1. If you use wax paper to spoon the mixture on instead of parchment paper, have something underneath the wax paper. This stuff is HOT and the wax will adhere to whatever surface it is on! I used a towel as I had already recycled my newspaper.
2. You can roast your pecans in a 275 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. You can make praline sauce by adding 1/2 cup corn syrup to the mixture.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. milk (I used whole)
6 Tbsp. butter (I used real butter)
1-1/2 C. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, mix all the ingredients and bring them to a boil.

With your candy thermometer, bring the mixture to soft ball stage (238-240 degrees). Once it reaches that stage, remove from heat. Keep stirring until the mixture is creamy and cloudy. The pecans will suspended in the mixture when it is ready to spoon out.

Spoon the mixture onto buttered parchment paper and let them cool. My pralines were about 2-1/2" round. Store them in an air-tight container. 

Share them with everyone you know. Seriously. Do not eat the whole recipe.