Email to Phil      

Recipe Categories: philocrates's HOME PAGEBREAKFAST CAKE CANDY CASSEROLES Central_PA_recipes Cheese CHILI CONDIMENTS_SPICES_andSO_FORTH COOKIES Copycats CROCKPOT DESSERTS DIABETIC EGGS ETHNIC FISHandSEAFOOD Frostings_Fillings_Icings_more FRUIT Heirloom Hint HistoricalFood Holiday_Specials HotandorSpicy Ice_Cream__More JAMSandJELLIES Jello MARINADES MEATS Microwave Mocktails PADutch PASTA PAStateGrange PASTRIES PICKLESandRELISHES PIE PIZZA PorkandHam Potatoes POULTRY ResturantsNOTCopycat RICE SALADandDRESSING SANDWICHES SAUCES SOUPSandSTEWS STUFFINGandDRESSING Titantic_Recipes VEGETABLES Wings

Elegant Southern Pralines

List of Ingredients




Elegant Southern Pralines
(Known as Elegant Northern Pralines if they are made with walnuts instead of pecans.)

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups nuts, halved or coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla


Pick a BIG saucepan. (The buttermilk and baking soda will foam with an exuberance that can shortly have you cleaning the whole stove.) In it, put everything except the butter and nuts, and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep right on stirring till the candy thermometer says 210F. (And don't be afraid you'll end up with white pralines. Somehow it all turns a beautiful dark gold.) Now add the butter and nuts, lower the heat a little, and keep cooking till the thermometer says 230F. If you haven't a thermometer, test it: the syrup should form at least a 2-inch thread without breaking, when you tilt the spoon.

Take it off the heat, add the vanilla, and let it sit till it quiets down. Beat it till it loses its gloss, and drop it by spoonfuls on waxed paper. When they've cooled, wrap them individually in waxed paper squares and hide them in an unpleasant-looking used can in the back of the refrigerator.


Recipe