Sweet Goodness..............

[Acera]

Got a party tomorrow at herselves place to celebrate warm weather and made up a batch of Pralines last night for it. Used this guys recipe, easy as it can be, and oh my they are good

 

[karlac]

Damn, same recipe we grew up with. That is some good eating.

Also could not believe my eyes when that pup walked through. Almost identical twin to mine.
Thanks for posting that...

 

[Couyon]

Oh man... You're killing me. I usually load up on pralines when I'm back home.

 

[coachrick]

Dang...I'm from South Carolina; but we grew up on peanut brittle. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered Pralines and Cream at Baskin Robbins back in the early '70s !!! Never looked back. Sugar is one of my favorite food groups...COOKED sugar might be my very favorite!!! Don't be afraid to try almond extract for a slightly different taste treat!
Prah-leens...pray-leins...it's ALL good to me!!!
Thanks for making me hungry!!!

 

[Acera]

Dang...I'm from South Carolina; but we grew up on peanut brittle. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered Pralines and Cream at Baskin Robbins back in the early '70s !!! Never looked back. Sugar is one of my favorite food groups...COOKED sugar might be my very favorite!!! Don't be afraid to try almond extract for a slightly different taste treat!
Prah-leens...pray-leins...it's ALL good to me!!!
Thanks for making me hungry!!!

I was also thinking about some Walnut extract instead of vanilla, but will try almond also

Speaking of peanut brittle, I have a recipe that will knock you socks off. Generally I use pecans instead of peanuts add a little chili powder and some cinnamon. PIA to make, but worth it.

 

[coachrick]

I was also thinking about some Walnut extract instead of vanilla, but will try almond also

Speaking of peanut brittle, I have a recipe that will knock you socks off. Generally I use pecans instead of peanuts add a little chili powder and some cinnamon. PIA to make, but worth it.

Yum! The key for me is avoiding the 'brittle' part. A) It's noisy! and 2) It slows me down! Tried some cashew 'pralines' a while back...not enough flavor from the nuts; but, that didn't stop me from eating ALL of it. A girlfriend from another life used to make a caramel apple sheet cake that would knock your socks off! It was like pralines with caramelized apples...Dang! No wonder I weigh so much!!!

 

[Skip]

Damn, now I want Peanut Brittle.......

"Character is doing the right thing even when no one is watching"

 

[coachrick]

If you want something from the grocery store, try Blue Bell's Mexican Praline !!! Full of additives; but that is some serious caramel flavor and chunks of what must be sugar-fudge !!!
(No, I am NOT going to the store tonight!!!)

 

[robertc1024]

Who's bringing a batch to Hicksville?

 

[Acera]

Ok, been experimenting with this recipe and got a good one worked up.



New, improved recipe

[FONT=&amp]1 1/4 cups pure cane white sugar
1 1/4 cups pure cane brown sugar (light or dark)
3/4 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 Cup of combination of whole and chopped Pecans
1/2 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Pinch of Salt
Wax Paper laid out onto cookie sheets for cooling the Pralines

In bowl, combine 1/4 cup white sugar with 1/4 cup brown sugar. Mix and remove lumps.

In 2nd bowl, combine 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Mix and remove lumps.

Stir the 1/2 cup of sugar (1/4 white+1/4 brown) into an iron skillet on high heat. Heat sugar until melted, lumps gone and caramel colored. Remove from heat.

Stir in 2 cups sugar and evaporated milk. Return to high heat and bring to a boil constantly stirring. Once all lumps are gone and mixture completely blended boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat.

Stir in pecans, salt, butter, and vanilla. Continue stirring off of the heat for 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Shorter time will get you a bigger circumference and thinner candy, longer will get you a thicker candy.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper.

Place in cool oven and let cool for at least 1 hour. [/FONT]

Things I have learned:

Cooling in a cold oven helps negate effects of humidity and tends to get a better result.

lengthened the cooking time due to brown sugar having more moisture in it that needs to be cooked off.

I am getting a darker shiny finished product with using the brown sugar in the recipe, plus a richer flavor with a hint of maple.

I have added 1 tsp. cinnamon to mix at the same time as the pecans. Came out good and the kitchen smelled awesome.

Another batch I added 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to the mix, wow, nice little bit of heat to counter the sweet. (One family member thinks these are the best yet.)

Due to rapid pace of this, I get everything laid out ahead of time.

I now use a flat ended wooden spoon that helps get all the sugar that tries to build up around the edges of the skilled loosened up as I stir.

Turn down the heat if it starts to boil rapidly and shooting the mixture out of the skillet, lighter boil seems to work fine.

Might as well plan on 2 batches as the normal can of milk has enough for 2, and once you open it up it needs to be used.

 

[coachrick]

Thanks a LOT!!! Just when I'm trying to get serious about cutting down on sugar, you make me dream of pralines!!! Actually, I've been staring at a recipe for Pineapple Upsidedown Cake...I make mine in a cast iron skillet. Sounds like I could steal a couple of your tips and make a Pineapple Upsidedown Praline Cake !!! Put the cardio Doc on Speed dial!!!

BTW...Yep, mise en place is your friend when dealing with cooking sugar, fo shizzle !!!

If you need a food tester/taster in the Austin area, look me up!!!

 

[Acera]

If you need a food tester/taster in the Austin area, look me up!!!

My aunt lives in Round Rock and has heard about these and been bugging me for a batch. If I can get a batch going up that way I will toss in some extras for ya.

 

[Acera]

Ok, going to dig this up with a new addition to the recipe.

Herself saw on some TV program that they had Bacon and Pecan Pralines.

Got back from vacation the other day and made a batch.

Not as bad as one might think. It has that salty and sweet thing going on.

Basically took the modified recipe posted on page one and added almost a pound of bacon to it (3 slices short of a pound.) Grilled the bacon on the smoker and then chopped it up, added it in right after the pecans.

Also discovered that parchment paper is just as good as wax paper in a pinch.