Pralines de Louisiane

River Road Recipes III, p. 22

1 cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup evaporated skim milk

3 tablespoons margarine

1 ½ cups chopped pecans

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Waxed paper (chill in refrigerator)

Be prepared to work quickly. Assemble your ingredients ahead of time. Mix sugars and milk in a large saucepan. On medium heat bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the soft ball stage.

It's sooooo delicious even just like this. (Be sure to scrape down the sides every so often.)

"Soft ball stage" is a candy-making term for the point in the boiling process where if you drop some of the syrup into cold water it forms a little squeezy blob like you see here. If you boil it for too long the syrup will cook into other, less squeezy, stages.

Add margarine. Immediately after margarine melts, add pecans and vanilla. 

Gotta do this efficiently because it'll eventually start to congeal.

Beat by hand until smooth. Drop teaspoon size patties of the mixture onto sheets of cold waxed paper, as quickly as possible. If the mixture crystalizes, add a small amount of milk and bring to a boil. Let cool and enjoy!

Not cool yet. It's more opaque when it's all the way cool. 

My Rating: 5/5 "I've never made candy before, but I was surprised at how do-able it really is! Pralines are always delicious and this is a pretty standard recipe for them, so it's handy to have around when you want that New Orleans tourist flavor. If you have a sweet tooth you'll never regret making a batch of these."