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Pecan Pralines
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 1 cup milk 1 cup white sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup packed, light brown sugar 2 cups pecan halves 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions for Pecan Pralines NOTE: To judge doneness, use one or more of the following guides; 1. Candy thermometer will read 240F 2. When done, the batter will begin forming distinct threads on the sides or bottom of the pan. 3. Near the end of the cooking time, make a test praline every few seconds. The early-test pralines will be somewhat runny, very shiny and somewhat translucent. The ideal praline will have progressed past that stage--it will not be runny and will be less shiny; when cooled it will be opaque, lusterless, and crumbly instead of chewy. 4. Near the end of the cooking time, drizzle spoonfuls of the mixture across the surface of the mixture. When ready, the mixture will form a neat thread across the surface.
Assemble all ingredients and utensils before starting to cook. You will need: a large heavy bottomed aluminum pot or skillet with deep sides a long handled metal whisk or spoon 2 large spoons (or an ice cream scoop with a manual release) a lightly buttered cookie sheet.
Be careful not to get any of the mixture on your skin, as it sticks and can cause serious burns.
Melt the butter in the pot over high heat. As soon as it’s melted, add the sugars and cream. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add the milk and chopped pecans, cook 4 minutes more, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking and whisking 5 minutes. Add the pecan halves and vanilla and continue whisking and cooking until done, about 15 to 20 minutes longer (see NOTE above on tests for doneness). If mixture starts to smoke toward end of cooking, lower the heat. Remove pan from heat. Quickly and carefully drop the batter onto the cookie sheet by heaping spoonfuls, using either the spoons (one to scoop, one to scrape) or the ice cream scoop. Each praline should form a 2-inch patty about 1/2 of an inch thick. Cool and store in an airtight container, or wrap each praline in plastic wrap or foil.
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From personal experience let me say, it really IS vitally important to cook the praline batter long enough. The first time we tried this, we got freaked out at how thick and hot the mixture was getting toward the end, and we took it off the heat too early. BIG mistake. They ended up looking shiny, they were WAY too sticky, and we had one hell of a time getting them loose from the buttered wax paper. I would also recommend doing it with 2 spoons rather than the ice cream scoop--much less messy, and much easier to clean than trying to dig candy bits out of your ice cream scoop mechanism, lol. Although, everything is really easy to clean if you can boil it. The candy just melts right off.
Good luck!
:hi:
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