• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
  • Desserts
  • Appetizers
  • Low Carb
  • Breakfast
  • Main Entrees
  • Salads

Cooked by Julie

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Posted In: Desserts, Holiday Recipes
    October 1, 2020 — by Julie — Leave a Comment

    Home » Delish » Desserts » New Orleans Pecan Pralines

    New Orleans Pecan Pralines

    Sharing is caring!

    378 shares
    • Share
    • Reddit
    • Yummly
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Bring a delicious and classic sweet treat to your holiday traditions and make these New Orleans pecan pralines. They’re large pecans combined with a rich mixture made up of sugar and evaporated milk. Extremely easy with few ingredients, this candy makes a great gift or platter for all your holiday needs.

    pecan pralines on a white plate.

    I just love it when the holidays start to roll around because it means you get to pull out all those old and tested holiday recipes. At every party, the desserts, cookie platters, and candy platters are the real MVPs. Everyone flocks to them constantly throughout the night and they’re picked clean by the time everyone heads out the door. Christmas definitely wouldn’t be the same without them. I love making those platters. My Sugar Cookies with Icing are always a huge hit along with these pecan pralines, and they often end up taking up most of the platters.

    What Are Pralines?

    A praline is basically the same kind of candy across the board. Sugar is usually cooked down and mixed with nuts, before being placed in piles and left to harden. Every once in a while they might be used with other recipes, but they’re more commonly a stand-alone treat. They will remind you of peanut brittle, just a little different in taste and texture due to the different ingredients used.

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe…

    I made pralines several times. The first time I used heavy cream but I prefer using evaporated milk. Evaporated milk has a much more intense milky flavor and I love it. It almost gives it a sweetened condensed flavor. I also used salted butter and not as much sugar as most praline recipes call for. Although pralines are supposed to be on the sweeter side I wanted these to be perfect and not overly sweet.

    How To Make

    1. Prep – Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on a large, flat, clean surface.
    2. Start the praline mixture – Combine the evaporated milk and both sugars in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until about 235 degrees is reached.
    3. Finish the mixture – Remove from heat. Add the pecans and vanilla, stirring until the mixture thickens.
    4. Harden – Scoop small piles onto the prepared parchment paper and let sit untouched for about 10 minutes or until hardened. Enjoy!

    Top Tips For The Perfect Pecan Pralines 

    • No candy thermometer – If you don’t have a candy thermometer, it’s not ideal, but not impossible. Simply take a dab of the mixture and drop it in cold water. If it balls up to where you can remove it from the water and it’s clumped up, you’ve hit the softball stage, and you’re good to move on to the next step.
    • Use super cold butter – Keeping the butter super cold before placing it in the mixture to melt is the best way to go. This will cool the mixture down considerably, cutting down on the thickening time. It also allows the butter to melt slower so only a bit is mixed in at a time.
    • Why are the pralines grainy? – This means you didn’t cook your mixture long enough or you cooked it too long. If you don’t reach 235 degrees at minimum or the soft ball stage, you will end up with a grainy texture.
    • Why are my pralines runny? – This most likely means you didn’t cook it long enough. It has to reach a certain temperature in order for it to solidify. If that temperature isn’t reached, you can have grainy candy or candy that doesn’t harden up correctly.
    • Make sure pecans are in every piece of candy – When scooping out the mixture, be sure that pecans get into each pile you place on the parchment paper. Although the toffee-like mixture is delicious on its own, it’s even better with those pecans included.

     

    pecan mixture in a black saucepan with a wooden spoon.

    Storage

    • Pantry – Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
    • Fridge – Store, covered in the fridge for up to two weeks.
    • Freezer – Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
    • Reheating – Do not forcibly reheat these pralines. You’ll want to let them come to an edible temperature on their own.

    You can also find other delicious recipes and cooking tutorial videos on Youtube and Facebook.

    pecan pralines on a white plate.

    New Orleans Pecan Pralines

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 207kcal
    Author: Julie Maestre
    Bring a delicious and classic sweet treat to your holiday traditions and make these New Orleans pecan pralines. They’re large pecans combined with a rich mixture made up of sugar and evaporated milk. Extremely easy with few ingredients, this candy makes a great gift or platter for all your holiday needs.

    Equipment

    • Candy Thermometer

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1/2 cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup evaporated milk
    • 4 tbsp salted butter cold
    • 2 cups pecans
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Add the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and evaporated milk to a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Stir constantly.
    • Once the candy thermometer reaches 236 degrees F. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
    • Stir in the vanilla extract and pecans. Stir for about 2-3 minutes.
    • Drop about 1-2 tbsp of the pecan mixture onto a lined baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • This recipe should make about 16 pralines. Let the pralines sit for about 10 minutes before enjoying.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 133IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookedbyjulie or tag #cookedbyjulie!

    Share this:

    • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

    Filed Under: Desserts, Holiday Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Julie! I’m extremely fortunate to make a living doing what I truly love – creating and sharing my favorite “can’t live without” recipes with readers from all over the world.

    More about me →

    Holiday Recipes

    • Easter sugar cookie bars with jelly beans, milk, and peep candies on the side.
      Easter Sugar Cookie Bars
    • two slices of caramelized onion cornbread on a plate.
      Caramelized Onion Cornbread
    • Chocolate coquito in a martini glass up close.
      Chocolate Coquito
    • traditional rum balls on a plate.
      Traditional Rum Balls
    • crockpot candy clusters on a baking sheet up close.
      Crockpot Candy
    • mashed potatoes in the instant pot.
      Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

    Popular

    • fried shrimp in a blue small bowl
      Southern Fried Shrimp
    • honey roasted turkey wings
      Honey Baked Turkey Wings
    • crab stuffed salmon fillets up close.
      Crab Stuffed Salmon
    • Creamy Garlic Salmon and Shrimp

    Like Us on Facebook

    Cooked by Julie
    Recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2021 Cooked by Julie

    378 shares
     

    Loading Comments...