Creamy Pralines

Some friends down in Louisiana brought my husband some pralines to work that he really loved. I asked for the recipe and finally made some today. Since I never got to have any of the originals, I hope these are how they are supposed to turn out! These have a high gloss and are very creamy. Here is the recipe.

1 can evaporated milk
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1-2 cups pecans

Mix milk, butter and sugar together. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches soft ball stage. This will take at least 35 minutes. I had a lot of trouble getting a good temp on my candy thermometer so I had to use the ice water method. Just drop a small amount of syrup in ice cold water, let set for a minute or two and if you can pick up the blob of syrup and it holds it's shape, the candy is ready. The syrup/candy will look a nice caramel color and be kind of spongy.

Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts and stir to coat. Prepare a piece of wax paper by spraying with Pam or other nonstick spray. Drop candy by large heaping teaspoons onto wax paper.

Let candy set up and then enjoy. I am a huge praline fan so I am sure these won't last long enough to share! Diana