Spirited Louisiana Pralines Dee Dees Recipes

CHUBBY'S WHITE PRALINES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast until golden brown and aromatic, 7 to 9 minutes; set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the sugar and milk to a boil; decrease the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (234° to 240°F on a candy thermometer). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter, salt, pecans, and vanilla. Beat the mixture for about 5 minutes with a wooden spoon, or until the mixture begins to stiffen. Quickly drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. (If you aren't fast enough, the mixture will become too hard to scoop.) Wrap individually in waxed paper, or store in an airtight container.
• To make even whiter pralines, omit the vanilla extract and drop in a halved vanilla bean with the sugar and milk. Remove the vanilla bean as soon as the mixture comes to a boil. Use the pointed tip of a knife to dig out the vanilla seeds and add them back to the praline mixture.
• Individually wrapped or stored in an airtight container, the pralines will keep for about 3 days.

SPIRITED LOUISIANA PRALINES - DEE DEE'S

Steps:

• 1. In a 5 qt sauce pan, combine brown sugar, sugar, cream, milk, butter, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches 230 degrees. NOTE: if necessary lower heat slighly to prevent a boil over.
• 2. Add pecans and continue to cook, stirring constantly until it reaches 236 degrees (soft ball stage). Remove from heat and add bourbon. Let mixture set until lukewarm about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon until thickened and slightly creamy, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
• 3. Working quickly, drop by tablespoon onto waxed paper or parchment paper. NOTE: If mixture hardens and becomes difficult to work with, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream; heat over medium heat until creamy and can be easily worked with. Let pralines cool completely and become firm before moving. Store in airtight container.