Pecan Pralines

Pecan Pralines

One of the things that I loved about living in Virginia is meeting women who taught me so many delicious meals and deserts. One such woman was Miss Lola the mother of a dear friend of mine. Ms. Lola taught me the proper way to can, and to make Pecan Pralines. So let’s make some Pecan Pralines since this is spring in the south and the perfect time to make them. Although the recipe calls for whole pecans, over the years I’ve started to mince my pecans for easier consumption.

Ingredients are simple:

1 Cup Packed Light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup of heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cubed

2 tablespoons of water

¼ teaspoon of Salt

1-1/2 cups pecans

 

Instructions are also simple:

Using a large cookie sheet line it with a piece of parchment paper. Then in a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugars, cream, butter, water and salt and stir together until melted and the mixture begins to come to a boil. Once everything is dissolved then insert candy thermometer and when it reads 250 degrees F, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Make sure the mixture is completely thickened. Let it cool for about 3 minutes then add in your pecans. Stir until completely coated. Then begin to drop Spoonfuls onto parchment paper, or just pour it all out on the sheet of parchment and smooth it out. Let it cool completely on the cookie sheet. Once it’s cool and hardened a bit (about 6 hours) remove from parchment and store in an airtight container for up to a week.  Do not freeze these as they won’t be good anymore.

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Graduating with an Associate of Arts from Pheonix University in Business Management, then a degree in Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology, her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. In her spare time, Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, Gouache, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.