Michael wrote:
> Made some bread in the bread machine for the daughter's
> boyfriend's family. We were down on the Gulf Coast last
> year and spent a night in New Orleans before we came
> back. Amber bought some ridiculously expensive pralines
> for her boyfriend, who really likes them. I was bored
> watching TV so I tried some pralines for the first time.
> I looked at a few of them at recipesource.com and chose
> the easiest one:
>
> 1 c Brown sugar
> 1 c Granulated sugar
> 1 ts Vanilla
> 1/2 c Evaporated milk
> 2 tb Melted butter
> 1 1/2 c Chopped pecans
>
> Stirred it up, cooked it to 238, let it cool for a short
> time in the pan, and then dumped it on foil. Amber and
> her boyfriend were thrilled.
>
> Is the above a good recipe for pralines? Would you
> recommend anything different? When I cooked the fondant
> I made last weekend, I didn't stir it as it was boiling
> (not supposed to), but I didn't know whether I should
> stir the pralines as they were boiling or not. I did.
> Did I need to?
>
> Thanks, Michael

Nope, real "pralines" are just a soft ball stage sugar candy with pecans.

2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. water
2-1/2 cups pecan pieces
1-2 tablespoon butter

Combine sugar and water in a 2-quart saucepan; heat to boiling stirring
constantly. Stir in pecans. Cook until mixture reaches soft ball
consistency (235F degrees or until a drop flattens when dropped in cold
water). Remove from heat; stir in butter quickly. Immediately drop by
tablespoons onto wax paper.

Jill