Pecan Pralines

(about 20)

The original southern pecan pralines just contained sugar, water, butter and pecans. At some point milk was introduced, often evaporated or condensed.

I decided to experiment a bit with these. I used heavy cream because I had some. I toasted the pecans beforehand as I often do because I like how that intensifies the flavour. Finally I decided to stir in a bit of baking soda at the end hoping to lighten the caramel somewhat even though I didn't cook it long enough as you would a brittle. I'm not sure if that made much difference although it did slightly foam up the caramel, and perhaps changed the texture somewhat.

1 tsp butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup broken up pecans, lightly toasted

Butter the insides of a saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from traveling up. Turn on the heat to medium and add the brown sugar, cream and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and let the mixture come to a boil. Lower the heat a bit and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce reaches softball stage, about 235° F; 5-8 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix well and stir in the pecans.

Drop by the tablespoonful onto waxed paper or buttered cookie sheets and allow to cool and harden.