Photo by T. Mike Fletcher
¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup clear corn syrup ½ cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter 1¼ cups pecan pieces
Spray a 9-inch square pan and set aside.
Place all but the pecans in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugars dissolve and the butter melts. At that point, wash the sides with a brush dipped in cold water.
Clamp on a candy thermometer and boil, undisturbed, until it reaches 236 degrees. Immediately remove from the heat and let it cool to 220 degrees. Stir vigorously with a spoon until thick and creamy. Stir the pecan pieces in quickly and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool overnight and then cut into squares.
Chef’s Notes: These praline squares are one of those happy accidents that comes from just enough knowledge. I found a recipe for New Orleans Praline Pieces on epicurious.com that sounded like just what I needed. I researched a few more, added a few items, and was all ready to go. I had made pralines before, and I remembered they always seemed grainy after they set up. So, in an attempt to make them less grainy or not grainy at all, I decided to replace some of the sugar with clear corn syrup as it is an invert sugar and helps reduce crystallization.
So out comes the pot and in goes everything except the pecans. The butter melts, a candy thermometer is clamped on, and the bubbling mass cooks to a temperature of 236 degrees. I removed it from the heat and cooled it to 220 as instructed. I then proceeded to stir like a mad woman until it became thick and creamy at which time I added the pecans, stirred even faster, and poured the mass into a prepared 9- by 9-inch pan to cool. After hours and hours of cooling it looked like I was successful in making caramels with pecans in them. Now I am in no way complaining—they were sensational! But they never got hard like pralines nor became opaque like pralines. So I went to bed thinking I made a great candy, but not a praline.
The next morning I walked downstairs and had really forgotten about the whole praline experiment as I went about doing other things. I did finally get around to looking at them and lo and behold! They firmed up, became opaque and they are the real thing—but not grainy. As an added attraction, they can be cut into perfect squares of melt in your mouth, brown sugar, and pecan goodness.
By Helen Fletcher, The Ardent Cook
