Pralines

There can be some confusion about what a praline is. There are pecan pralines, praline pecans, and candied pecans. These pecan delight could just as well be walnut, almond, or hazelnut. I choose to simplify this: Pralines - pure and simple. Use whichever nut you prefer. I prefer my nuts coated and toasted and not predominantly a puddle of hardened goo with a little nut. These are coated nuts, plain and simple, and they are delicious. Use whole nuts, halved nuts, chopped nuts, crushed nuts. Make then stand-alone for snacking or bake them atop any dish in the oven - sweet potatoes, sweet potato souffle', apple crumble, peach pie.... have fun with it!

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Pralines

Planning

  • Prep Time:

    10 minutes

  • Bake/Cook Time:

    10 minutes

  • Chill/Set Time:

    1 hour

  • Servings:

    20-24

Preparation

  • Materials

    Large cookie sheet
    Silpat Mat
    Parchment Paper
    Medium Saucepan

  • Prep

    Line a large cookie sheet with a silpat mat and parchment paper.

  • Oven/Stove

  • Shopping List

    Brown Sugar
    Heavy Cream
    Butter 1/4 cups
    Confectioner's Sugar
    Vanilla Extract
    Pecans or other nut

Ingredients & Steps

  • Ingredients

    Brown Sugar - 235 ml (1 cup)
    Heavy Cream - 79 ml (1/3 cup)
    Butter 1/4 cups - (59 ml) (half a stick)
    Confectioner's Sugar - 235 ml (1 cup)
    Vanilla Extract - 5 ml (1 tsp)
    Pecans - 1 1/2 cups (or other nut)

  • Steps

    STEP 1: Bring the brown sugar, cream, and butter to a boil over medium heat in the saucepan, stirring constantly. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture should reach 230F, then remove from heat.

    STEP 2: Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and whisk in the confectioner's sugar.

    STEP 3: Stir in the nuts and makes sure each nut is well coated.

    STEP 4: Spoon the nuts over the parchment paper on the cookie sheet - or over your dish as a topping. If you want more individual nuts rather than puddles or groups of nuts, place the nuts on a grate or cooling rack over the parchment lines cookie sheet.

    STEP 5: Let the nuts cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes) then place the cookie sheet of nuts in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. You can skip this cooling step, of course, if you are baking them on a recipe in the oven.

    NOTES: The creamy, sweet sauce will harden quickly, so you must work quickly and do not let it start to set up until you are done. If for some reason you are slow and it gets to thick or starts to harden, add a little warm milk to it. It should only take about an ounce or so.

    SERVING:
    Top your soufflé', pie, cake, peaches and cream, ice cream, or other dessert with praline nuts. They are also delicious in oatmeal or cold cereal - or just eat as a snack.

    STORAGE:
    Store pralines at room temperature in an airtight container in layers separated by sheets of wax paper. They will keep 1-3 weeks at room temperature and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

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