How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (2024)

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Meggan Hill

5 from 9 votes

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Pecan Pralines are a traditional Southern with crunchy pecans and a soft, buttery-sweet base. And they’re only 5 ingredients!

How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (2)

Pecan Pralines have a similar texture to fudge but are studded with crunchy pecans. The result is a cluster of pecan praline candy that is sweet treat and delicious, a classic New Orlean’s confection that is most popular at the holidays.

If you love the flavor of brown sugar and butter together, these are for you! These sweets are pretty enough for a homemade food gift, too, stored in a pretty box or Christmas tin tied with a bow.

Table of Contents

  1. Recipe ingredients
  2. Ingredient notes
  3. Step-by-step instructions
  4. Recipe tips and variations
  5. Frequently Asked Questions
  6. Pecan Praline Recipe Recipe

Recipe ingredients

How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (3)

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Half and half: Or substitute heavy whipping cream.
  • Pecans: Or substitute walnuts for Walnut Pralines, almonds for Almond Pralines, or peanuts for Peanut Pralines.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, half-and-half, and nuts. Cook until sugar dissolves, about 2-3 minutes, stirring gently. Increase to medium heat and cover.
How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (4)
  1. Cook until sugar dissolves from the side of the pan, about 2-3 minutes longer. Uncover and cook until praline reaches soft ball stage, 235 degrees on a candy thermometer, while stirring constantly (do not boil).
How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (5)
  1. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture until it begins to thicken. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, and allow to stand at room temperature until firm.
How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (6)

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe makes about 24 Pecan Pralines.
  • Storage: Store pralines in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
  • Freezer: Arrange cooled pralines on a plate or tray and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag or container and freeze up to 2 months.
How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (7)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between candied pecans and pralines?

Candied pecans are pecans coated in egg whites, sugar, and spices, then baked until crispy. Pralines are a drop-candy with a caramel-like base and crunchy pecans mixed in.

How do you determine soft ball stage?

Drop a small amount of candy mixture in a bowl of cold water. If it can easily be molded into a ball, and then falls flat out of water, you have reached the soft ball stage.

What are the best Pecan Pralines to buy?

The last time I was in the French Quarter of Louisiana, I did some pretty extensive praline testing. My favorite (and it wasn’t even close) was La Belle Creole Creamy Pralines from the Royal Praline Company. They say their praline recipe has been passed down for four generations and cooked in a copper pot with pecans, cane sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. I absolutely believe them! These pralines are the best money can buy.

How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (8)

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Pecan Praline Recipe

By Meggan Hill

Pecan Pralines are a traditional Southern with crunchy pecans and a soft, buttery-sweet base. And they're only 5 ingredients!

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Resting time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings 24 pralines

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Calories 150

5 from 9 votes

ReviewPrint

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, half-and-half, and pecans.

  • Cook until sugar dissolves, about 2-3 minutes, stirring gently. Increase heat to medium and cover. Cook until sugar dissolves from the side of the pan, about 2-3 minutes longer.

  • Uncover and cook until praline reaches soft ball stage, 235 degrees on a digital thermometer, while stirring constantly (see note 3).

  • Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture until it begins to thicken. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, and allow to stand at room temperature until firm.

Notes

  1. Half and half: Or substitute heavy whipping cream.
  2. Pecans: Or substitute walnuts for Walnut Pralines, almonds for Almond Pralines, or peanuts for Peanut Pralines.
  3. Stuck: If the praline mixture becomes hard in the pan, hot water a teaspoon at a time and stir until loose enough to scoop.
  4. Yield: This recipe makes about 24 Pecan Pralines.
  5. Storage: Store pralines in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 pieceCalories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 3mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 30IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill

Meggan Hill

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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. Recipe calls for butter 1/4 plus 2 tblsp. Is that 1/4 cup?

    Thank you,
    Gary

    Reply

    1. Hi Gary, that was written a little confusing, I’m sorry about that. It should be a total of 6 tablespoons of butter. I have changed it in the recipe card. -Meggan

How to Make the Best Pecan Pralines (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my pralines get hard? ›

In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture. If the sugar mixture is not cooked to the proper temperature (the hard-crack stage 300-310° F {149-154° C.} or if you are working in a kitchen with high humidity, chances are your candy is retaining too much moisture.

What are the ingredients for pralines? ›

How do you keep pralines from being grainy? ›

Powdered sugar - adding powdered sugar really makes the pralines smooth and creamy and removes any graininess of the brown sugar.

How to soften praline pecans quickly? ›

Since the problem is mostly that the sugar in the pralines gets hard and crystallized, you might try softening them the way you'd soften hard brown sugar. Place a terracotta sugar saver in the container or something else that's slightly damp, like a few slices of apple or a slice of fresh bread.

Can you overcook pralines? ›

Pralines should be cooked to 236°F (soft ball stage) so that it is still pliable when it cools and so it maintains the smooth sandy texture typical of pralines. This is impossible to determine without a thermometer, and if you overheat the sugar, you are guaranteed to make pralines that are too firm and grainy.

How do you stop pralines from crystallizing? ›

A little crystallization in pralines is inevitable but adding a bit of corn syrup can help keep crystals from forming. In this recipe I also butter the sides of the pot and only stir before the sugar comes to a boil.

Why do my pralines have white spots? ›

Why are there white spots on my pralines? The white spots are a natural process called crystallization.

How long do homemade pralines last? ›

Pralines will keep well for 1 or 2 weeks at room temperature. After that, the sugar will begin to crystallize and the candy will get harder and gritty. To ensure they stay fresh, proper storage is key. Pack them in an airtight container as soon as the candy hardens and use parchment or wax paper to separate layers.

What's the difference between a praline and a praline? ›

A praliné is a paste that is a mixture of nuts, chocolate and sugar. While in Belgium, a 'praline' is defined as a filled chocolate candy. Note that the term 'praline' is of Belgian origin.

What is the best weather to make pralines? ›

Plan to make your pralines on a cool, dry day. If it's humid or rainy, as it was the first time I made pralines, the candy might end up with a more sugary, grainy texture.

Why is my praline bitter? ›

Just make sure you buy your nuts raw and not already roasted. The main reason for that is that we will cook the nuts in a pan for 10-15 min. If you do this with roasted nuts, they will end up being over-roasted and your praline will taste very bitter.

Why did my praline crystallise? ›

Sometimes, as syrup boils, sugar starts to form back into crystals, which turn hard and cloudy. Crystallisation can be caused by stirring, or a grain of something other than sugar getting into the pan, or often just bad luck.

Why are my pecans mushy? ›

Humidity above these values can cause kernel molding and pecan texture deterioration (pecans become soft and rubber-like), whereas lower humidities will cause excessive drying. In-shell pecan kernels will darken under high humidity as a result of the tannic acid being dissolved from the shell lining.

What is the difference between praline pecans and candied pecans? ›

What is the difference between candied pecans and pralines? Candied pecans are pecans coated in egg whites, sugar, and spices, then baked until crispy. Pralines are a drop-candy with a caramel-like base and crunchy pecans mixed in.

How to make pecans easy to crack? ›

This is a good method if you just purchased a bag of pecans in the shell and want to do them all at once. Add the pecans to the boiling water and simmer them for 15 minutes. Drain the water and place the pecans on a baking sheet to cool. Once they have cooled down completely, you can easily crack them open.

Why is my candied fruit not hardening? ›

If your candied coating isn't hardening, the candying mixture did not reach a high enough temperature.

Why does my hard candy get soft? ›

When the weather is hot or humid, it may take longer for the candy to cool, or it can absorb excess moisture from the air, which might cause the sugar to crystallize or the texture to soften instead of becoming hard and crisp.

What makes hard candy harden? ›

The process of turning sugar into a hard, smooth, transparent confection involves heating a sugar/corn syrup/water solution to 300 – 310° F. {150 - 155° C.}, or what is known as the hard crack stage of sugar. The use of a candy thermometer is not essential, but highly recommended and accuracy is critical.

What is the soft-ball stage for pralines? ›

235° F–240° F

At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand. Fudge , pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage.

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