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Buttermilk Bacon Pralines

Source of Recipe

From "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea" by Martha Foose


Recipe Introduction

"Sweet, Salty, Ridiculous. These salty-sweet electuaries are brilliant paired with drinks before dinner. The outlandish combination of smoky bacon and pecans, scented with orange, in a brown sugar disk, is an amusing, tongue-teasing conversation starter - a true amuse-bouche."

List of Ingredients

◦  1 cup granulated sugar
◦  ½ cup packed light brown sugar
◦  ½ cup buttermilk
◦  1 Tbsp light corn syrup
◦  ½ tsp baking soda
◦  ¼ tsp kosher salt
◦  4 Tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter
◦  ½ tsp vanilla extract
◦  1 cup chopped pecans
◦  ½ tsp grated orange zest
◦  4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled


Recipe

In a heavy-bottomed, deep saucepan, combine the granulated and brown sugars, the buttermilk, corn syrup, baking soda, and salt. Cook slowly over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the mixture reaches 235° F on a candy thermometer.

Remove from the heat and add the butter, vanilla, pecans, orange zest, and bacon.

Being mindful of exposed skin as the mixture is very hot, beat like the dickens with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a silicone mat or buttered parchment paper. Let stand for 30 minutes, or until cool and firm. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 24 small pralines


NOTES:

◦  If you don't have a candy thermometer, drop a spoonful of the mixture into a cup of cool water. If the test drop can be formed into a pliable ball, then it is ready for the additional ingredients. If not, let the mixture cook a little longer and try again. Change water between tests for more accurate results.

◦  Withholding the bacon makes a classic praline. These really aren't too much of a production and make a great hostess or teacher's gift that can be ready in 45 minutes. Quicker than brownies or cookies.

◦  Activist Robert King Wilkerson made pralines in his jail cell at Louisiana's Angola Prison. During his 29 years in solitary confinement, he was able to procure ingredients from inmates on his cell block, and with a makeshift stove made of soda cans, he cooked his candy based on a recipe he learned from a fellow prisoner named Cap Pistol. After he was exonerated on the charges that led to his imprisonment, he started a candy-making business. On his first day of freedom he made pralines; now he calls his candy Freelines.