Pecan Pralines: Making That Pecan Taste Great

Anyone can make pecan pralines. The recipe is so simple that even the most uninformed in the kitchen can follow the 7 straightforward steps in making pecan pralines. But, there is a great deal of difference between making pecan pralines and making pecan pralines that taste great.

You can start with the standard recipe that everyone uses for pecan pralines. All you need are several available ingredients and you are ready to start.

Prepare 2 cups of brown sugar, ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of evaporated milk, 2 cups of pecan pieces and halves, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of chilled butter cut in pieces. Put the sugar, milk, and water in a saucepan and mix. You can choose to butter the sides of the pan so the contents won’t stick. Heat the mixture until it boils, all the while stirring continuously to dissolve the sugar. Keep on doing this until the contents of your saucepan attains a soft ball consistency. You will know that you’ve reached this point when a drop of the mixture in chilled water forms a ball yet evens out when lifted up with the fingers. If you have a candy thermometer, you can check the temperature to see if it is between 2340 to 2400. Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the pecans, vanilla, and butter. Stir the butter and vanilla in thoroughly. Spoon the candy onto the wax paper. Add a little hot water to the mixture if it becomes too thick to transfer to the wax paper.

Getting that perfect pecan praline may take several experiments. Even following this standard recipe can give different results. Some people may have to eat batches upon batches of burnt, too-soft, too-thick, or especially dry pecan pralines before they get that perfect pecan praline. Others find it easy to whip up perfectly delicious pecan pralines without making more than one attempt. Each person also has his or her own preference that’s why some key ingredients are added to taste. There also are variations in the key steps involved to create that perfect praline.

There are an infinite number of ways to make your own distinctive pecan pralines. You can try adding bourbon or dark rum. You can use heavy or sour cream instead of evaporated milk. You can cook the butter with the sugar. Even toasting the pecans, which brings out the natural buttery caramel flavor, can also work. You can make creamier pecan pralines with light corn syrup or you can add cherries or marshmallows. You can add flavor with coconut, vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter. You can pour the praline mixture over graham crackers and bake this in the oven to make praline bars or squares. Pecan pralines can even be used in muffins, cupcakes, cakes, or cheesecakes. There is no limit to where pecan praline mixtures can take you. Mixing pecan pralines with any of these desserts can create many an interesting outcome. The natural flavor of pecans allows this. You’ll just have to be imaginative and enough of a sweet tooth to have the patience to try things out.

Tanner’s Pecans and Candies has delicious pecan pralines, pies, and other sweet treats. Pecan Pralines never tasted this good.