Aunt Genevas Pralines Recipes

PRALINES

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In large saucepan over medium heat, combine pecans, sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.

CREAMY PECAN PRALINES

Steps:

• Mix light brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, butter, water and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Stir in pecans and cook over medium heat until mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 238 to 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. If you spoon a drop of boiling syrup into a cup of ice water, it will form a soft ball that flattens easily between your fingers.
• Remove pan from heat and stir rapidly until mixture thickens. Drop pralines by the spoonfuls, 1-inch apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Let cool completely until firm. Store in an airtight container.

CLASSIC PRALINES

Steps:

• Prepare a sheet tray by covering it with waxed paper.
• Combine brown sugar and cream in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved, then do not stir anymore.
• Insert a candy thermometer and boil until the sugar reaches 240 F (soft-ball stage).
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and becomes opaque.
• Stir in all pecans, and drop by teaspoonfuls on a prepared sheet tray.
• Allow to cool completely at room temperature before removing from waxed paper.
• Serve and enjoy!

PECAN PRALINES

Steps:

• Place both types sugar and the cream in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the temperature reaches 228 degrees on candy thermometer, stir in the butter and pecans and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 236 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until the candy coats the pecans but does not lose its gloss. Drop the pralines 1 tablespoon at a time onto a well-greased piece of aluminum foil or a slab of confectioner's marble. Allow the pralines to cool. They can be eaten as is, stored in tins, or crumbled over vanilla ice cream for a New Orleans - style dessert.

PRALINES

Steps:

• Have ready 4 oiled large baking sheets. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine the sugars, the cream, the salt, and the cream of tartar, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side with a brush dipped in cold water, until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until a candy thermometer registers 238°F. Remove the pan from the heat, let the mixture cool until the candy thermometer registers 220°F., and stir in the butter and the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it is creamy and stir in the pecan halves. Working quickly, drop the mixture by tablespoon onto the baking sheets and let the pralines cool. Remove the pralines carefully and store them, wrapped individually in wax paper, in airtight container in a cool place. The pralines keep for 2 weeks.

AUNT GENEVA'S PRALINES

Steps:

• Mix sugar, corn syrup, baking soda, and buttermilk in large saucepan. Cook till candy thermometer reads 240 F. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla. When incorporated, add pecans. Stir until thickened and drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool.