Pecans embedded in a creamy, brown sugar blanket that slowly and luxuriously melts in your mouth? That's what you'll get with homemade pecan pralines!
Baking vs. boiling sugar for candy
Generally speaking, I love to bake. Yes, there can be pitfalls, from mismeasured ingredients to overheated (or underheated) ovens, but more often than not things turn out well.
Candy making is a whole other ball o’wax…if baking is temperamental, working with sugar is downright ornery. When you’re boiling sugar for candy, a few degrees can make a huge difference.
When I was in culinary school, one of the first classes I took was called American Regional Cuisine which featured…uhm…foods from around America (who’d a thunk it?). One unit in particular was Cajun/Creole cuisine (try saying that 3 times fast!). Among the recipes for Gumbo, Étouffée, and Red Beans & Rice, was a recipe for homemade Pecan Pralines.
Not having ever been to Louisiana, I had thought that Pecan Pralines were candied nuts, and in a way, I was right. However, these weren’t praline pecans, and by that I mean individual candied nuts, like cinnamon almonds. No, these were a drop of what can only be described as pecans embedded in a creamy, brown sugar blanket that slowly and luxuriously melts in your mouth (Mmmmmm…).
This praline recipe quickly became a favorite in my house, so much so that they’ve become my younger daughter’s go-to recipe for impressing people. Yes, they’re that good!
Soft-ball stage candy
So why am I highlighting pralines? Well, it’s the heating of the sugar to the precise temperature of 239°F, what is called soft-ball stage, that makes or breaks this recipe.
It’s been hit-or-miss for me when I’ve tried it, even with a digital thermometer, because I never really paid attention to what soft-ball stage really meant. And believe me when I tell you it means a lot!
Here’s a quote from the Exploratorium: "As a sugar syrup is cooked, water boils away, the sugar concentration increases, and the temperature rises. The highest temperature that the sugar syrup reaches tells you what the syrup will be like when it cools. In fact, that’s how each of the temperature stages…is named."
** Warning: technical talk ahead…proceed with caution, or just meet up with us at the recipe **
Sugar Science
There are 6 stages in candy making: thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft-crack, and hard-crack (boy, there are so many asides I could make about these names!).
I won’t bore you with the characteristics of each of these stages (you can go to the Exploratorium's website and bore yourself without me), but I want to highlight the soft-ball stage:
- Range: 234° F–240° F
- Sugar concentration: 85%
- Comments: At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand.
So the soft-ball stage is when the sugar syrup will have some cohesion, but it will keep the candy soft…think fudge.
The gist of it all is that using a digital thermometer to know the exact temperature of the sugar syrup is important (especially to an engineer like me who likes precision).
Yes, you could do the whole “drop a small amount into cold water and evaluate the texture” test, but if you have a digital thermometer (that’s calibrated, to be sure), then you’ve already the means to know if you’re there or not.
Soft-ball stage temperature for Pralines
But just using the thermometer isn’t enough…candy stages are a range of temperatures. Since a few degrees makes a difference, where in the range you decide to proceed with the recipe is crucial.
That’s the crux of why this recipe for pecan pralines was hit-or-miss for me…I would just go to 234°F, the lowest temperature of the range (yup, I’m impatient that way), and move on from there. And it showed in the end product…in the mouth the candy was dry and grainy rather than soft and satiny.
I finally learned to wait until the syrup got to 239°F (which, incidentally, was labelled “soft-ball” on my old non-digital candy thermometer). What a difference a few degrees made! Smooth creamy brown sugar goodness just melting on the tongue. Man, these were good!
How to make Homemade Pecan Pralines
After you master the art of soft-ball stage patience, making homemade Pecan Pralines is merely the task of cooking, stirring, cooking, and stirring again.
Work quickly when portioning out the drops. The syrup firms up quickly, making it harder to scoop.
The right way to say pralines
One more point…I had always pronounced these as “Pray-leens,” but recently I was corrected: they should be called “Prah-leens.” However you pronounce them, I hope you will try them. Be sure to have your digital thermometer (and patience) handy, and have at it.
Now please excuse me while I go take a mental visit to Cajun country with a homemade Pecan Praline in my hand.
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
More dessert recipes with pecans
- Black Bottom Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Pecan Bars
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Eggnog Bread
- Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
- Homemade Honey Cake
Homemade Pecan Pralines
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar (7 oz, 200g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3-1/2 oz, 100g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup pecans (4 oz, 112g), coarsely chopped
- 2 Tbsp butter (1 oz, 30g)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Procedure
- Combine the sugars, salt, cream, and cream of tartar in a heavy pan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, wiping the crystals from the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula.
- Over medium heat, cook for 15 minutes or until mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, 239°F, on a digital thermometer. (Note: original recipe said 234°F–240°F [112.5–115°C])
- Add the pecans. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the butter, vanilla, and salt.
- Beat until the mixture looks creamy around edges of pan (this happens very quickly but if you need to speed the process, put saucepan in cold water while beating).
- Using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp), drop the candy onto a half sheet pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- When cool, remove from the paper, or when the pralines cool and get firm, cut the waxed paper between each one and wrap individually.
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