If there is one thing Louisiana grandmothers are good at, it’s making these delightfully sugary treats during the fall and winter. They are a staple of work and teacher gifts every year. They are also hard as hell to make.
One you get it down, it’s fine. But good Lord did it take me several batches to get it right. What you see in the picture above, while they look pretty, actually are flawed. They didn’t quite solidify like they were supposed to. Color and flavor came out right, but they didn’t harden into the candies they were supposed to.
I followed the recipe on my great-grandmother’s recipe over and over, trying to get it right.
Eventually (meaning last night), I figured it out.
When sugar is heated, it undergoes chemical changes that aren’t really apparent until it cools. When making candy, the stages of development are soft ball (like a caramel candy), firm ball (like fudge), hard ball (like nougat), soft crack (like taffy), and hard crack (like toffee).
The recipe card I used called for temperatures of about 240 to 250 degrees. That doesn’t quite get us where we need to go, as 250 is barely about firm ball stage. So I let the candy mix get up to about 255 or 260, and the mixture finally came together like it was supposed it.
I have a theory about old grandmas and their recipe cards, and it sounds paranoid but I’m convinced I’m right: They don’t want to give you the actual recipe.
No one should ever, ever take your grandmother’s place as THE authority on making a certain dish, so they don’t write everything down, or change something ever so slightly. The Old Lady Mafia must protect their turf.
I have, however, cracked the code, and I present it to you now.
Pecan Pralines (The Right Way)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 can (4 oz.) condensed milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped pecans
Mix together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and condensed milk in a heavy pan. Turn the heat to medium-high.
Bring the mixture to a boil and stir before reducing the heat to about medium.
Using a candy thermometer, track the mixture’s heat until it hits at least 250, but don’t let it go higher than 260.
Take the mixture off the heat and add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the butter is completely incorporated.
Add the pecans and beat the mixture with a wooden or rubber spoon/spatula until the mixture is thick.
Spoon the mixture onto a pan or tray lined with wax paper. This mixture will make 20-30 pralines, depending on the size of your spoonfuls.
Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container.
More recipes coming this week. Y’all have a happy Thanksgiving!