Creamy New Orleans Pralines

It's that time of year again!  Time for candy making.  Well at least it is in my house.  It's finally cool enough that it's actually a pleasure to work around a hot stove. I've been busy collecting ideas for this fall/winter so if you have any you'd like to see on here, please leave a comment.

I've never actually made Pralines before so when I saw this one on Facebook that included buttermilk it piqued my interest. Don't worry, you can't taste buttermilk at all. I think it's more for color purposes then anything else. In fact, the sugar concoction doesn't taste like much at all in my opinion and in fact is just used as a basis to hold the pecans together.  The pecans are the star of the show here so if you're not a pecan fan, this recipe isn't for you.

I thought the recipe was really good.  I'd like to try a classic praline recipe as well to see what the differences are but overall I'm really happy I made these. Great fall dessert that is pretty quick coming together and dries fast so they can be ready to transport soon after making.

Creamy New Orleans Pralines

From Sonja Jones-Natt via Facebook

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 quart (4 cups) pecans, whole or halves

Cooking Directions

1. Line two cookie sheets with wax paper and spray the wax paper with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a very large pot, combine the sugar, buttermilk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
3. Add the baking soda (it will foam considerably) and cook until it reaches soft ball stage or 235º.
4. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and the pecans. beat until the color changes and the candy thickens. It will be thick but not so thick that you can't pour it off the spoon.
5. Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared cookie sheet and work quickly because it will harden fast.