New Orleans Pralines
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light cream
1 ½ cups pecans, halved
2 tablespoons butter
Combine sugars and cream in a heavy 2-quart saucepan and bring to boil
over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until
mixture forms a thick syrup.
Add pecans and butter and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring
frequently.
Remove sauce pan to a heatproof surface (such as a wire rack) and let
cool for 10 minutes.
Use a tablespoon to drop rounded balls of the mixture onto sheet wax
paper or foil, leaving about 3 inches between each ball for pralines to
spread. Allow to cool.
Makes about 12 candies.
New Orleans Pralines
1- 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup + 2 T. Half and Half cream
1/2 stick butter
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine all ingredients except the pecans and vanilla in a heavy
saucepan.
Mixture will be thick. Stir until it comes to a boil, then turn heat
down to a low boil. Stir occasionally; spoon mixture up on sides of pan
to melt any sugar that hasn*t melted.
Cook until the mixture reaches 239 degrees with a candy thermometer. If
you don*t have a candy thermometer, bring it to the soft ball stage.
Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and the pecans. Stir until the
mixture begins to thicken and becomes creamy and cloudy. Spoon onto
waxed paper to harden.
What usually happens is that by the time the mixture turns cloudy,
signaling that it is time to drop onto the waxed paper, it starts
hardening too fast to drop correctly. You should then stir in about 1 -
2 tablespoons of warm water to thin the mixture. Don*t add too much -
just enough to make the spoonfuls drop and settle in a "puddle". You
don*t want them to look like chunks of rocks.
If cooked to the correct temperature, it won*t take a minute to harden
by stirring. If you don*t cook them long enough, they remain "sticky"
and never become firm. They should be firm, yet creamy. If you don*t eat
them all the first day <g>, wrap them individually and store them in an
airtight container.
Below the recipe you will find some tips and tricks for making no-fail
pralines.
Recipes in which the butter is cooked with the sugar and milk seem to
turn out better, cook faster, and taste creamier.
Cook to the correct temperature - 239 degrees. If you use a recipe in
which you don*t put the butter in while cooking, don*t cook that long.
Cook only to approximately 210 degrees.
Don*t let it go beyond the soft ball stage. If you do let it reach the
hard ball or "thread" stage, it won*t crystallize and be soft.
Assemble all of your ingredients before you start. Have the pecans and
the vanilla ready, and have plenty of waxed paper laid out and ready.
Have your spoon ready with which to drop the mixture when it starts to
harden.
Spoon them out on a cutting board or a cookie sheet covered with waxed
paper. They are very hot and may damage a table or counter. Also, the
mixture is so hot it will melt the wax onto your counter and it will
have to be cleaned off with scouring powder.
Try several recipes and decide for yourself which you like best.
================ Childhood Praline Recipe
(If you are on a diet, this is the recipe to use because it only makes a
few pralines. Or, you can double the recipe if you like.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup pecans
Combine sugars with milk in a pan. Bring to a boil; turn down heat and
cook until it reaches the soft boil stage. Remove from heat; stir in
pecans. Beat until creamy; drop onto waxed paper to cool and harden.
Caution: Do Not let this recipe go over 210 degrees. It was one of the
trial recipes for this page, and without the butter in the mixture while
cooking, it will burn very fast. Quick and easy!
Microwave Pralines
(These are quite delicious! They are rich and creamy, and the recipe
makes quite a few. Be careful if your microwave has high wattage - Cut
the cooking time down to about a total of 11 minutes.)
1 lb. light brown sugar
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 cups chopped or whole pecans
In a 2-quart bowl, combine sugar and whipping cream. Microwave at high
for 10 - 13 minutes or until soft-boil stage; stir halfway through
cooking. Stir in margarine, vanilla and pecans. Microwave at high for 2
more minutes. Beat 2 minutes until glossy. Drop by tablespoonful onto
un-greased wax paper. Yields 24 pralines.
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