Pralines are a lovely southern treat. Basically the base is caramel, with the saltiness of pecans mixed in.
Making the caramel is the tricky part. Candy making is a very precise science.
It is easy to over cook the caramel which leaves you with a hard mass that you can’t really do anything with. It is also impossible to clean up!
If you undercook your caramel, it will never harden. This will ensure that your pralines are inedible. You won’t be able to pick them up, and they will ooze all over the place on the wax paper.
If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you will definitely need to invest in one before attempting this recipe. Make sure you hang your thermometer about halfway into the mixture to ensure a correct temperature. If it is too close to the bottom or top you will not get an accurate reading.
I thought I did everything right when making these. My temperature reading was accurate, everything looked right.
Unfortunately, I think I misread the thermometer. It was a new one, so I wasn’t 100% comfortable with it. What I thought was 238 degrees was more than likely closer to 220.
My pralines did not completely harden. They did look pretty, but the base wasn’t the shiny caramel it should have been.
The good news is that the flavor was wonderful. I will absolutely try them again.
Auntie’s Pralines
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Cups White Sugar
1 Cup Evaporated Milk
3 Tablespoons Corn Sirup
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Teaspoon Maple Flavoring
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Broken Pecans
1/2 Cup Pecan Halves
Cook sugars, cream, sirup, and salt to soft ball stage, 236 degrees. Remove from heat. Add butter and flavorings. Stir until sirup begins to thicken. Add broken pecan pieces and drop from a spoon into cakes on waxed paper placed on a cookie sheet. Press pecan halves into the surface, working quickly as the cakes harden fast. When hardened removed from waxed paper. Wrap each praline in waxed paper individually.
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