Since I've posted a King's Cake recipe early this morning and made a shrimp-chicken-sausage gumbo this afternoon, I figured I would post a recipe of one of my favorite cookies, Pralines.
The recipe posted below is one from a lady from Louisiana named Marie. She was one of the custodians that worked at the school my mom taught at. To earn extra money, Marie made and sold her Pralines. My mom had her son in class and Marie gave my mom her recipe for Pralines. Marie was known for NOT giving out her recipes so my mom was honored. Little did Marie know, my mom really doesn't do any experimental baking/cooking. I spied this recipe in one of my mom's old cookbooks that was filled with recipes given to her from people from church, school, and other locations.
The history of the praline dates back to 17th century France when the chef of the sugar industrialist, du Plessis-Praslin, individually coated whole almonds with caramelized sugar. Praline refers to an confection that is made of nuts and sugar syrup or any chocolate confection containing ground powder or whole nuts. Belgium, France, and America all make pralines different. The American praline came into being in the 19th century when chefs would substitute pecans for the almonds and use cream to thicken the confection. American pralines have a consistency like fudge and can be very sweet.
My first time making Pralines was for a cookie swap one Christmas. It really didn't take me long to make the pralines but I did learn a very valuable lesson. While the mixture is cooking on the stove to get to that soft ball stage, make sure to be wearing oven mits because if the mixture bubbles and lands on any exposed skin, IT will burn. I loved the pralines but my Yankee husband didn't like them. To him they were too sweet and had pecans in them. I didn't mind because that meant extras for me.
Enjoy Marie's Praline recipe. If you ever travel to New Orleans, you will see these sugary treats almost everywhere you go. You will see a lot of Aunt Sally pralines but you can also find pralines made by a local baker. You should at least try them once. If they are too sugary for you, just means more for me!
Ingredients: 12oz can of evaporated milk, 2 c sugar, 1/2 stick butter, Pecans, vanilla
Instructions: Mix milk, sugar, and butter in a pan and cook until thick like fudge. Drop a small amount of the mixture into cold water and see if a soft ball forms. If it does, remove from heat and add pecans and vanilla. Drop mixture on a buttered cookie sheet or butter Al foil. Cool completely.
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