A little indulgence for the solstice celebration.
Pecan Pralines
.
Ingredients
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar*
1 small can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
1 ½ cup of pecan pieces
Method
I use a three quart saucepan for this candy, use what you are used to. Combine sugars, milk and salt in
sauce pan. Place pecans onto a sheet pan and put into a 250°F oven. Place sauce pan on moderate heat
to melt sugars, stirring well to combine. Raise heat to bring sugars and milk to the boil. When boiling,
cover pan and wait three minutes. After three minutes, remove cover and brush any sugar grains on side
of the pan down with a brush dipped in cold water. Continue to cook stirring occasionally to stop the
sugar sticking to the pan. Cook to soft ball stage on candy thermometer. When cooked to softball,
remove from heat and add butter. Stir to combine, then add vanilla and pecans and stir to combine. I
pour my entire batch at once onto a silpat. Use buttered parchment paper or a greased pan or your
imagination if you don't have a silpat.
*Note on brown sugar. For a truly great praline use a Mexican brown sugar that is called Piloncillo. It
is only cane juice cooked down to a solid block of sugar. It is quite hard and needs to be grated before it
can be combined. It can be found in any Mexican grocery store. It is extra effort, but the resulting
candy is superb. When cooking Piloncillo in candy extra caution is needed. Stir occasionally to make
sure the sugars don't stick. You may find you can cook piloncillo with less heat. If you are an
experienced candy maker, just watch your pot, it reaches soft ball in a hurry.
Pecan Pralines
.
Ingredients
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar*
1 small can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
1 ½ cup of pecan pieces
Method
I use a three quart saucepan for this candy, use what you are used to. Combine sugars, milk and salt in
sauce pan. Place pecans onto a sheet pan and put into a 250°F oven. Place sauce pan on moderate heat
to melt sugars, stirring well to combine. Raise heat to bring sugars and milk to the boil. When boiling,
cover pan and wait three minutes. After three minutes, remove cover and brush any sugar grains on side
of the pan down with a brush dipped in cold water. Continue to cook stirring occasionally to stop the
sugar sticking to the pan. Cook to soft ball stage on candy thermometer. When cooked to softball,
remove from heat and add butter. Stir to combine, then add vanilla and pecans and stir to combine. I
pour my entire batch at once onto a silpat. Use buttered parchment paper or a greased pan or your
imagination if you don't have a silpat.
*Note on brown sugar. For a truly great praline use a Mexican brown sugar that is called Piloncillo. It
is only cane juice cooked down to a solid block of sugar. It is quite hard and needs to be grated before it
can be combined. It can be found in any Mexican grocery store. It is extra effort, but the resulting
candy is superb. When cooking Piloncillo in candy extra caution is needed. Stir occasionally to make
sure the sugars don't stick. You may find you can cook piloncillo with less heat. If you are an
experienced candy maker, just watch your pot, it reaches soft ball in a hurry.
