How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (2024)

FAQs

What causes pralines not to harden? ›

If the sugar mixture is not cooked to the proper temperature (the hard-crack stage 300-310° F {149-154° C.} or if you are working in a kitchen with high humidity, chances are your candy is retaining too much moisture.

Avoid The Humidity

Plan to make your pralines on a cool, dry day. If it's humid or rainy, as it was the first time I made pralines, the candy might end up with a more sugary, grainy texture.

If you find that your pralines are not setting up, it may be that the mixture either did not reach the correct temperature or was not mixed long enough.

For one, pecan pralines are a patty-shaped candy made from pecans and several other ingredients, typically sugar, butter, and cream. Praline pecans, on the other hand, are individual pecan nuts with a praline-flavored coating.

Remove the pot from the stove and place on your countertop. Stir vigorously till the praline mixture looses it's shiny quality and starts to thicken up (for me this takes 2-3 minutes). Once that happens spoon the mixture onto a silpat mat or parchment paper in small piles.

A little crystallization in pralines is inevitable but adding a bit of corn syrup can help keep crystals from forming. In this recipe I also butter the sides of the pot and only stir before the sugar comes to a boil. After the candy reaches soft-ball stage, it is left to cool for 10 minutes without agitation.

235° F–240° F

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. Fudge , pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage.

The white spots are a natural process called crystallization. Because our pralines are made with NO preservatives, the white spots occur over time as the cooked sugar returns to its original crystal form. The process begins as soon as the candy leaves the pot, and does not affect flavor.

Uneven heat distribution or fiddling too much with the temperature of the sugar can also lead to crystallization. 3. Always make sure that all of your ingredients are pre-measured and ready to use because once the sugar starts to boil, things move fairly quickly.

If your pralines don't set up, or they get dry and crumbly, don't toss them out! Eat them with a spoon, ball them up and dip in chocolate, or chop them up and use as a topping on cake or ice cream!

Does homemade pralines need to be refrigerated? ›

There is no need to refrigerate pecan pralines. They will keep for about three weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.

Just make sure you buy your nuts raw and not already roasted. The main reason for that is that we will cook the nuts in a pan for 10-15 min. If you do this with roasted nuts, they will end up being over-roasted and your praline will taste very bitter.

New Orleans Praline Recipe

Most recipes include a few traditional base ingredients: sugar, milk, butter and pecans. The New Orleans School of Cooking teaches guests to make a traditional praline. Whether in the French Quarter or in the comfort of your own home, you can use this recipe to make a batch of your own.

Being that pecans are the main ingredient; the snack contains essential vitamins & minerals, can aid in long-term heart health, can be enjoyed by gluten intolerant consumers, can provide a high number of antioxidants, and can supply a large amount of protein & fiber.

Pecan pralines last up to three weeks. So it is better to consume the pecan pralines in the first two to three weeks after you make them. After three weeks, the pralines will not go bad but the sugar will begin to re-crystallize and so they will lose their delicious creaminess and will get a little harder to chew.

If your pralines don't set up, or they get dry and crumbly, don't toss them out! Eat them with a spoon, ball them up and dip in chocolate, or chop them up and use as a topping on cake or ice cream!

Traditional Southern recipes say never make these on a rainy day! Humidity and moisture can affect the finished texture of the candies.

Always use a heavy bottomed pot to make the pralines which will disperse heat evenly. Uneven heat distribution or fiddling too much with the temperature of the sugar can also lead to crystallization.