Pralines Pronounced "praw-leens" A Definitive Site for Praline Recipes Straight from Praline Country.   Although Pralines are wonderful any time of the year, in the South they are a tradition during the Christmas season. People around here serve them at parties and give them as gifts. They aren't hard to make (although you have to develop the "right touch"), yet they are considered delicacies. They originated in New Orleans, a mere 90 miles from where I live, so I see them in quite a few places. It's fun to watch them being made at the praline shops in the French Market in New Orleans and in Southern candy shops. It's also fun to learn to make them yourself! A bit of history... Pralines were first made in France more than 200 years ago. During the 17th century, a count named Cesar de Plessis Praslin created this candy as a calling card when courting famous women in France. He made it by boiling nuts in sugar. It became popular confection. In his day, the praline was made with almonds because they were the most prevalent nut in France. When French colonists came to Louisiana, native pecans were substituted for the almonds. In that time, almonds were used to make the caramel-coated confections. When the French settled in New Orleans, they began using pecans because they were more plentiful. The Louisiana Creoles added milk to the recipe, resulting in a creamier candy. The rest is gourmet history. Pralines are rich, yummy and very addictive. There really isn't another candy confection in existence that has the same flavor. I've collected a number of praline recipes over the years, so I have quite a few to share. Before doing this page, I tested four of them. The first recipe I am putting here first is by far the best of the four. I've adapted it, using the best of several recipes. It cooks in a reasonable time, has a creamy texture, a good flavor, and hardens well. Two things you have to learn in making pralines: (1) When to remove them from the heat, and (2) When to stop beating them and start spooning onto the waxed paper. You may have to practice a few times before you perfect your skills, but they are basically easy to make. Purchasing pralines can be expensive, and often times they are crumbly, or are old, or don't have a very good flavor. You can't beat homemade pralines that turn out "right".   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. More Recipes More praline recipes have been added to this page since it was first created; however... I've gained several pounds while doing this page, so I'm not going to test them all again <smile> They are from people who say they are very good recipes.

More Pralines Recipes For You To Try:

Never Fail Pralines (Note on my recipe card: "Tried 2/1980 - Very Good"   2 cups sugar 3/4 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 T. margarine 1 1/2 cups pecans Mix sugar, soda and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat, until mixture forms a soft ball in cold water. (This one probably shouldn't reach 239 degrees) Remove from heat; add vanilla and margarine. Stir in pecans. Beat until creamy. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool until set. Wrap separately to store.   Childhood Praline Recipe (When I was a child, a neighbor sent us some delicious pralines as a gift for Christmas. They were so good that my brother and I called her to get the recipe. We couldn't believe how very simple the recipe was... we figured it had to have more ingredients to make them so good, but it didn't. We used to make them quite often. 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 - mine does. 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. Other Recipes you may wish to try, but I can't vouch for them:   Susan's Pralines 1-1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 1-1/2 Cup White Sugar 1/2 tsp. Salt 1 Cup Whole Milk 1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar 1/4 Cup (1/2 Stick) Salted Butter 1 tsp. Vanilla (Use the best Vanilla you can get and make it a heaping teaspoonful) 2-1/2 Cups Pecan Halves Combine the sugars, salt, milk and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, wiping the crystals from the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula. Once it's dissolved and you start letting it cook, DON'T wipe... it will make it grainy). Cook to 236º to 238º on candy thermometer. Immediately take pan off the burner and let it cool to 220 degrees. Add the butter, vanilla, and pecans and beat until creamy with a wire whisk. While it is still soft, drop by spoonfuls onto a piece of waxed paper, leaving about 2" of space between each spoonful. Work fast before they start to harden. When the pralines are cool and firm, you can wrap them. Pralines with Butterscotch Pudding No, I don't have this recipe. People keep e-mailing to ask me for the recipe. I can't imagine them being as good as the real thing. I suggest you look through some old recipe books, or do an Internet search. I also don't have a recipe for coconut pralines. The regular ones are good enough for me <g>.   Chewy Pralines I'm often asked about a recipe for Chewy Pralines. I suppose they are more like caramels than the traditional firm and sugary pralines from Cajun country, but since I've never eaten one, I don't know what they taste like. People say they are delicious, but it's hard to imagine them being better than the Southern praline. I'm sorry, but I don't have a recipe for them. I only make the traditional ones. You might want to do an online search if you need a recipe. Other Queries: Sorry, but I don't have any other recipes concerning pralines. Someone asked about a praline dessert cup she got at a restaurant in Seattlethat had a thin praline cup that held ice cream . She said, "On top of the ice cream were 2 or 3 chocolate truffles which had been rolled in a graham cracker crumbs, butter and finely chopped pecan mixture and then they were deep fried. When you broke into the truffle outer shell, the melted truffle oozed over the ice cream and praline shell. It was to die for! ". Sounds like it was sinful. If you have that recipe, please send it and I'll add it here.

This extra bit of information came from the newspaper I write for as a free-lance writer. The reporter was Andrea Yeager, who was writing about chef Bill Hahne, who used to be the chef at the Radisson Hotel in New Orleans. For a time, he was instructed to make enough pralines give to each guest with turn-down service instead of mints. He had to make two pralines per guest each night until the manager one day saw how much work was involved. Here are some tips from Hahne: Have everything ready before starting. Have ingredients all measured and ready. Add the vanilla last, as it makes them creamy. Spoon prolilnes out on a plastic cutting board covered with waxed paper. (I use an overturned cooked sheet covered with waxed paper) Pralines are very hot, so don't set the pan down on a counter without protecting it. The thermometer should read exactly 230 º for pralines to set up nicely. If you go over that temperature and the candy forms a hard ball or thin threads when it is dropped into cold water, it has cooked too long. Bill Hahne's New Orleans Pralines 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cups brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup Half & Half 3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons) 1 1/2 cup pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine all ingredients except pecans and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Add pecans, bring to 239 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, then stir until mexture thickens and becomes creamy and cloudy. Spoon onto buttered waxed paper. Andrea Yeager, "Keys to good pralines right temperature". The Sun Herald, May 14, 1997.

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