Small wonder many cooks, beginner and seasoned alike, are hesitant to make pralines, the crisp candy made of nuts and sugar. Praline recipes in cookbooks nearly always carry words of warning, such as: “This recipe won’t work on a rainy day, so don’t try it. Even an extremely humid day is ‘iffy.’ ”
Or: “There is no way to learn this (how to make pralines) except by trial, error and eventual triumph.”
But every Louisiana cook knows you can’t make any claim to being a gracious host in the South if you can’t make pralines. Pralines are the sweet of choice from November through the end of Mardi Gras. And during any social season, as guests come in there’s often a saucer of bite-size pralines on a table near the front door.
Are the little pralines a bracer for guests to swallow before going into the brightly lit and tastefully decorated rooms filled with music and conversation?
No one has ever admitted that the strategic placement of pralines by the entrance has a purpose — you just know that it does. Think of pralines as mini-icebreakers, and you appreciate their importance.
This knowledge of why you should always serve pralines comes naturally from childhood maxims, such as “A spoon of sugar makes everything better,” “Sugar is sweet, and so are you,” and “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.”
Sooner rather than later, every beginner cook, and especially a cook who likes to entertain, needs to learn to make pralines, humidity or not.
Ensuring the cooking sugar reaches the correct temperature, a soft-ball stage of 234 F to 240 F, is essential. If the pralines cook too long, they turn into taffy or brittle, two states of hardness achieved in subsequent test batches made by a novice candy cook not using a candy thermometer.
If you absolutely must make pralines without a thermometer, you can attempt to judge the soft-ball stage of doneness by dropping a half teaspoonful of the hot praline mixture into a glass of ice-cold water. When the mixture makes a soft ball or solidifies before reaching the bottom of the glass, the sugar is cooked enough and the cook can proceed to the next step.
Praline testers found that they needed to insulate their counter tops when working atop Formica or other non-heat resistant materials.
They found that placing folded newspapers or towels underneath waxed paper or aluminum foil did the job.
All in all, the praline testers discovered that when properly equipped with a candy thermometer, praline-making isn’t that difficult. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, it can be carried out successfully even on rainy days if you drop the thermostat to 60 F and dry out the humidity in the kitchen.
So make a batch or two — and that’s something else the testers learned. You can’t double a praline recipe; you have to make two batches. The increased amount of crystallizing candy mixture couldn’t be spooned out fast enough before it set in the pot. However, you can halve a praline recipe. That worked fine.
Pralines
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1/4 stick butter or margarine
1 cup pecan halves
In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the white sugar, brown sugar and evaporated milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir syrup for about 6 minutes.
When the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, remove pot from heat and add vanilla, salt and butter or margarine. Stir until the butter is melted, then add the pecans.
Beat the candy while it is hot, and as soon as it begins to lose its glossy sheen, drop the candy by spoonfuls onto waxed paper set on top of newspapers to protect counter top or aluminum foil.
Makes 12 pralines. Recipe from Camille M. Cassidy.
Mrs. Frenzel’s Microwave Pralines
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 pound light brown sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
2 cups pecans
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine whipping cream and sugar in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl. Add cream of tartar and salt. Microwave at full power for 13 minutes. (I use a 900-watt microwave that has a turntable.)
At the same time, slowly toast pecans in a 350 F oven (a toaster-oven will work), turning frequently so they do not burn.
Remove whipping-cream mixture from microwave and remove pecans from oven.
Add butter to whipping-cream mixture. Stir quickly until butter is melted and mixture begins to lose its gloss. Add vanilla and pecans. Quickly turn out by spoonfuls onto aluminum foil.
Makes about 24 pralines. Recipe is from Carol Anne Blitzer.
Creamy Pralines
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
16 large marshmallows
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large saucepan, cook sugar, margarine, marshmallows and evaporated milk over medium heat, stirring constantly until melted.
Stir in pecans and continue cooking to soft-ball stage, 236 F on candy thermometer. This stage is reached pretty quickly after stirring in the pecans so carefully watch the temperature.
Remove from heat and add vanilla. Beat until thickened.
Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper set atop a folded bath towel or folded newspapers.
Let pralines cool and set. When cooled, put pralines in a cookie tin with a tightly fitting lid or in plastic self-sealing bags.
Makes about 3 dozen pralines. Recipe adapted from Beulah G. Weimer’s recipe in “From the Sugar Bowl” cookbook published by The American Sugar Cane League ($16.95).
Pralines, the crisp candy made of nuts and sugar, are Louisiana’s sweet of choice from November through the end of Mardi Gras. They are said to be difficult to make, but every Louisiana cook knows you can’t make any claim to being a gracious holiday host in the South if you can’t make pralines.
