For years and years I’ve made pralines but never Easy Pecan Pralines. You see – the recipes I used in the past required candy thermometers or microwaving with just the right bowl and a wooden spoon. They were always finicky and didn’t always turn out right.
However, last year, after my microwave pralines recipe failed me again, I decided I had to find a recipe that was more reliable.
I started searching and trying and I finally landed on a recipe at Tasty Kitchen. I’ve made it 20+ times probably and it only failed me once…. it’s now the only recipe I use.
I should mention… I’m not quite sure why the recipe failed that day (the pralines wouldn’t set up) – the only difference was I made them at my Mama’s house and not mine. I even brought all of the ingredients from my house to hers… they just didn’t work that day.
It probably had something to do with my whole family being there and I was running my mouth the entire time I was making them… I’m sure I mis-measured something or didn’t let them boil quite a full minute. I don’t know – it’ll forever be a mystery 🙂
Oh wait – but I should make it clear that the day wasn’t a total loss… every single crumb of the pralines were still eaten – we just used spoons to scoop them up!
You see… this big ole family of mine wouldn’t let pralines go to waste – even if they were sticky!! Hahaha.,.. I love my family!
Anyway, I’ve been making candy/cookie trays this Christmas season and in every tray, I’ve included some pralines so I thought it was about time I shared the recipe.
You can see one of the trays I made here… along with the Christmas Crunch Recipe and here’s another I made this morning:
None of my trays have been exactly the same so far… this one included Pecan Pralines, Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Peanut Clusters, Peppermint Bark & Graham Cracker Nut Roll.
Anyway… back to the pralines recipe. When I say it’s easy – I mean, really, really easy. Are you ready?
Here’s the printable recipe:
PrintEasy Pecan Pralines
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 24
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cups salted butter (half a stick)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves (or chopped pecans)
Instructions
- Line a large cookie sheet (or two) with parchment paper.
- Place the brown sugar, whipping cream, butter & vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 1 minute, then remove it from the heat. Immediately whisk in the powdered sugar, then gently stir in the pecans.
- Allow the mixture to thicken and cool slightly, but it only takes a minute or two.
- Drop heaping spoonfuls of the praline mixture onto paper and allow it to cool and set up for at least 30 minutes. You can speed this up by popping the sheet in the frig if you’re impatient like me 😉
Wife to Richy. Mommy to 6 kids. Homeschool Teacher. Jesus Freak. Good Books. Baker. Friend. Loves to Laugh. Photographer. Chocolate Addict. Mathematician. Pink. Diet Dr. Pepper-aholic. Cook. Flip-Flops. Ponytails. Loud Music. Writer. Budget-er. Chocolate Milk. Pillow Hog. Late-night TV & Junk Food.
Can’t wait to try these! I, too, make cookie trays for neighbors and friends. THANK YOU!
You’re very welcome – I hope you love them as much as we do!
I have been searching for a Praline recipe WITHOUT having to use a thermometer. We live at 6,200 ft. and recalibrating the candy thermometer can get complicated and I avoid using Math whenever I can! Thanks again!
Mmm the look SO good. We normally make cookie tins as well but it never occurred to me to add pralines in it, thats such a good idea.
Looks good to me. It is great that you have a large family.
Looks and sounds yummy! I love that tray of goodies you made too! Thanks for sharing with us at the Merry Monday link party. I hope you’ll join us again next week. Sharing your post on Twitter!
LOVE…Pralines…Used to make caramels & fudge @ year with my Mom-in-law!! Miss her a lot..
Awww – have a blessed Christmas season!
Rose, could you please figure out how to make chocolate Pralines for us? Up here in Minnesota there was a store selling basically a chocolate praline candy but it was mixed with nuts and stringy coconut and the store burned down and I have never had it since BUT we went to New Orleans and had some and they were the same candy minus the nuts and coconut, I would like make your easy pralines with the added chocolate, coconut that comes in longer string pieces (do you know what that would be) and add tiny bits of nuts!! I miss that, Thank you Rose! Hannah
★★★★★
I’ve never heard of chocolate pralines but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a recipe!
Hi Rose,
Thank you so much for getting back to me on this. Chocolate pralines are well known in New Orleans, One place that is famous for them is Aunt Sally’s. They are also sold on Amazon and you can find them on google. I love Pralines but amazingly the chocolate pralines are even better than the pecan pralines. I think it will shock you how delicious they are! Please try some! You won’t believe how delicious they are! I am a caramel/ praline type person and NOT a chocolate person at all and I LOVE chocolate pralines. They are unbelievable! REALLY.
Hannah
★★★★★
I own a bakery in Savannah. Just add cocoa in the sauce pan. …, depends on how dark of chocolate you want, start with a half a cup the first time and decided from there.
Hi. I only have unsalted butter. Will that work or should I add salt?
I haven’t made them with unsalted, but I imagine it would work – just add a pinch of salt!
How long will these keep?
At least a few days, but I haven’t tried longer than that… they’re always eaten too fast at my house 🙂
Oh my waistline! I just made these and they are wonderful! I had never made pralines before but found this recipe and thought I’d give it a shot. So glad I did. The only thing I had a problem with was the powdered sugar didn’t really melt in but who cares? So good! Thank you for putting this recipe out there.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved them Sherry!! I’m sorry about trouble with the powdered sugar – maybe it needed sifting (that varies from brand to brand)!? Merry Christmas!
Made these quick pralines yesterday here in Austin, Texas – – they are fab! Used buttermilk instead of cream for a tangy taste. Delicious! Thank you for this great (and quick!!!) recipe.
★★★★★
Oooh, so glad to hear it!! I’ll have to try the buttermilk substitution. I used to make buttermilk pralines years ago (different recipe), so I bet that substitution is amazing!
Was wondering if half and half would work instead of the whipping cream? I was going to try another recipie for these but got lost after reading all the crazy instructions! Already bought the ingredients though and thought, maybe?
Hi Jennifer – I’ve never tried it, so I’m just not sure. But if you’re not opposed to eating it by the spoon 😉 , you could always try and see how it goes. If you do – come tell me how it turns out!
Okay, so I realized after getting the stuff on the stove that I didn’t have any powdered sugar. Panic mode ensued! I did find some white chocolate chips, so I substituted a cup of those for the powdered sugar and kept my fingers crossed. The pralines turned out wonderful!
★★★★★
WOW – I’d have never guessed that that would work! #awesome