Praline Pecans are a Southern delight blending velvety caramel and crisp pecans. Born from sugar, butter, and cream alchemy, they offer a harmonious contrast of textures.
Rooted in tradition, these treats encapsulate the essence of the South’s flavors, perfect alone or enhancing desserts with their irresistible charm.
Praline Pecans
Pecan pralines (also known simply as pralines) are a type of sweet candied nut made primarily from sugar, butter, cream, and pecans. Pralines have a distinct creamy texture and a rich, caramelized flavor.
To make them, butter and sugar are cooked until a sauce begins to form. The pecans are then stirred in to coat them well. Then the pecans are transferred to parchment and separated to cool.
What are Praline Pecans?
The resulting pecans are softer with a slightly grainy finish due to the crystallization of the sugar. They’re usually round or irregularly shaped and can vary in size.
Pecan pralines are enjoyed as a standalone candy or used to add a sweet and nutty element to various desserts, like ice creams, cakes, and pies.
Pralines are often found in gift shops, specialty stores, and markets in the Southern United States, and they’re a cherished part of Southern culinary traditions and culture.
When my friend Joan visited from Georgia she brought me a big bag of Georgia pecans, along with the suggestion I bake something delicious with them. The pecan-inspired recipes on her website are nearly endless.
How to Make Praline Pecans
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:
- light brown sugar
- white sugar
- butter
- heavy cream
- pecan halves
Praline Pecans Recipe
Start by placing a large piece of parchment next to the stove, along with a couple of forks.
Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and then stir while the sugars melt and come to a boil.
Add the cream while whisking constantly. When the mixture is smooth again, Add the pecans and stir to coat.
Carefully pour the coated pecans onto the waiting parchment.
Working quickly, use the forks to separate the pecans and allow them to cool without clumping together.
Store the completely cooled pralines in an airtight container.
Pralines
Crunchy, chewy, sweet pecans are sprinkled throughout these rich and buttery Pecan Praline Blondies. From the chewy blondie base to the crisp topping, this is a dessert that I simply couldn’t resist.
Pralines and Cream Ice Cream features creamy vanilla ice cream swirled with buttery sweet salted caramel, generously sprinkled with chunks of chewy praline pecans. It’s an old-fashioned ice cream lover’s dream come true.
Fall flavors of pumpkin and pecans are combined in this Praline Cheesecake. It makes a showstopping holiday dessert.
All the rich flavors of classic bread pudding meet French toast in this easy Pecan Praline French Toast Bake. Fully loaded with pralines and spices, there is enough sugar to make it a treat, without sending my whole family into a sugar crash mid-morning.
Looking for more sweet treats? These Puff Pastry Baklava Bites are delightful, bite-sized treats that offer a modern twist on the traditional Greek dessert, baklava.
Praline Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Start by placing a large piece of parchment next to the stove, along with a couple of forks. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and then stir while the sugars melt and come to a boil.
- Add the cream while whisking constantly. When the mixture is smooth again, Add the pecans and stir to coat.
- Carefully pour the coated pecans onto the waiting parchment. Working quickly, use the forks to separate the pecans and allow them to cool without clumping together.
- Store the completely cooled pralines in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Patricia Royster says
Can pralines be placed on silicone mat
Mary Younkin says
Hi, Patricia! That should work, but it might be harder to scrape them off the tray later.
thelma says
is there a temp that the sugars and butter shld be at before adding the cream? if it’s too hot it will be gritty?
GREAT RECIPE, thank yoh
Mary Younkin says
Hi, Thelma! The butter and sugar should come to a boil before you add the cream. Actually, the pecans are probably more likely to be gritty if you add the cream at too cool a temperature. I hope you love the recipe; happy cooking!
Tammie Van Winkle says
Mary, everything I’ve tried of yours has been absolutely amazing. Thank you so very much…. I appreciate you.
Mary Younkin says
You’re welcome, Tammie! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes. I hope you love the praline pecans.
Lucretia flowers says
Oh my goodness, these look so good, I will make these for Christmas
Mary Younkin says
I hope you’ll love the pecans, Lucretia! Happy cooking.
Laura says
Can you double this recipe?
Mary Younkin says
Hi, Laura! You should be able to double this recipe without an issue.
Betty Boutwell says
Give me the praline recipe so I can make some
Diane Parks says
My granddaughter made these for Thanksgiving, and I must have eaten my weight in them! They are the best candied pecans I have ever had. Got the recipe today and will make for our delivery drivers and postgirl! Now I will try other of your recipes!
Have a blessed holiday season! Diane
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you loved the pecans, Diane. Happy holidays, and happy cooking!
William Morton says
Why are my pecans not setting I followed all the directions but they’re not stiffening up
Mary Younkin says
Hi, William. You might have added too much liquid to the pan. Other than that, I’m not sure. Did you substitute any ingredients or change any cook times?
Kristy Lafitte says
I am having the same problem with them not setting. I measured and my cream was not cold. We just threw them in the freezer to see if it will help
Suzysez says
I followed the directions and ended up with a big gooey mess. These were closer to caramels with pecans, and I ended up wrapping them individually. They taste fine, but were not at all what I wanted. The few pecans that I separated eventually hardened, but they never attained the crusty/grainy outer shell.
It may have helped if the directions had given the desired candy thermometer temperature. In any case, this is the worst praline pecan recipe I have tried.
Mary Younkin says
Hey Suzy, I can appreciate your frustration with a recipe that doesn’t turn out as expected, however I don’t think that there is enough of a “sauce” here to measure with a thermometer. You’d likely be reading the temp of the pan. (That said, I will attempt to measure the temp for you next time I make these.) There should be a very light layer of sugars around each pecan and mine typically harden almost as soon as they’re removed from the stove.
Suzanne says
Same here!
Shari says
I started with this recipe. Once the 1/4 cp butter melted the sugar was very thick. So I double checked the butter measurement. Then I noticed the butter in the picture at the top. That is a full cube of butter and not just a 1/4 cp/half cube. I quickly pulled up another recipe, it called for a full cube of butter and 1/2 cp more sugar. So I added 3 Tbls more butter but no more sugar and it started looking better.
Thiss new recipe said to boil the sugar 7-8 minutes (235*) BEFORE adding the heavy cream. This recipe here indicated that you should add the cream when the sugar/butter comes to a boil with no indication of cooking it any amount of time. It needs to get up to 235* for it to set up and if you just stir in the cream, add the pecans and spoon it to the parchment. It is difficult to keep just the tip of the thermometer in the mixture but it was 235* in 7 minutes. I stirred in the pecans and spooned them out to my silmat. They’re outside in the cold setting up right now. I’ve licked the spoon and the carmel is delicious!!! I can’t wait to impress everyone at lunch tomorrow with these. It’s my first time with carmel or pralines. If I hadn’t found that other recipe I fear it would have been a disaster. Sorry :o)
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you were able to find an alternative that works for you, Shari. Enjoy the pecans!
Carolyn says
I made some about a month ago using a different recipe that didn’t require whipping cream and that seemed to turn out more candied and what I expected. These were more of caramel pecans. I spread them out and added more nuts to the sauce but they still were soft. They’re not bad, just not what I expected from the description and picture.
Mary Younkin says
They should’ve firmed up after cooling, Carolyn. Did you change any other ingredients?
Suzanne says
This did not work for me. Was a chewy caramel with pecans
Mary Younkin says
Sorry to hear that, Suzanne. Did you toss to coat and separate the pecans?
Amy says
I’m also having the issue of chewy caramel as opposed to crunchy praline. I made sure the sugar boiled before adding the cream, separated the pralines quickly with the forks and did not change any of the ingredients.
Mary Younkin says
To make them a little crunchier, you can reduce the cream just a tiny bit. However, you also might need to cook it a tiny bit longer to make sure it’s ready to coat the pecans. Without being in your kitchen with you, it’s hard to guess exactly what might have gone wrong.
Y Feldstein says
Tried this and it worked perfectly. the only issue I had was when I didn’t try to drain some of the pecans they didn’t dry. So note to future batches, drain a bit before laying them out.
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you’re enjoying the pecans!