2 c sugar; white or turbinado
1 c buttermilk
(I suspect that you could
-use yogur
1 ts baking soda
2 c pecans
1 ts vanilla extract
1 butter or margarine
Place 1st 3 ingredients in a deep pot, stir, bring to a boil, and
boil to soft ball stage, 234F-240F, depending on humidity, and
whether it's going to be mailed. Remove from heat, add the rest of
the ingredients. Allow to stand a little while. Stir until the syrup
sugars along the side of the pot. Drop by spoonsfull on a sheet of
waxed paper which has been placed on newspaper.
We usually make 16, which is about a soup spoon/praline. Allow to
stand until it hardens. If you wait too long and it won't pour, you
might be able to rewarm it over hot water, or add a little water and
rewarm, or go ahead and pour out and break up into sugared pecans.
It's still good.
"There are as many praline recipes as there are New Orleans cooks. I do
have several helpful hints- Butter the praline pot before starting. This
helps in preventing crystals on the sides. Place a few layers of newspa
per down before putting down the waxed paper. This prevents the paper fr
om sticking to the underlying surface. Cut between the pralines, leaving
the paper on the candy, when shipping; you have a better chance of the p
ralines arriving intact.
This is the recipe my mother started using when my sister and I left for
college, because you can cook it to the top limit of softball, and get a
chunkier praline that won't break up so easily, so it can be mailed. Wh
en done this way, it ain't pretty, but it sure is good!"
