The best southern praline recipe! These melt-in-your-mouth homemade candies are perfectly rich and chewy and full of irresistible caramel flavor.
Ingredients
½cupunsalted buttercut into tablespoons
1 ½cupsgranulated sugar
1 ½cupslight brown sugarpacked
1 ½cupsheavy cream
1Tablespoonlight corn syrup
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
2cupspecan halves
1cupchopped pecans
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Instructions
Line 3 sheet pans with foil or parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
In a large pot or a Dutch oven, combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream, corn syrup, and salt. Place over medium-low heat; let the butter melt and sugars dissolve, stirring occasionally.
Increase to medium heat, and bring to a low boil while continuing to stir occasionally (be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks). Cook and stir occasionally until a candy thermometer reaches 236°F (soft ball stage), about 6-7 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and mix in the pecans and vanilla extract. After stirring them in, do not mix further. Allow the praline mixture to cool to 170°F, which should take about 15 minutes.
Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it begins to thicken, about 1 minute.
Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared sheet trays. Allow them to rest at room temperature until fully hardened, about 8 hours or overnight.
Notes
I like to use a mix of whole and chopped pecans but you can use either/or.Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.