Pralines (New Orleans)
intro
Creamy, buttery, pecan-studded New Orleans pralines are a classic Creole candy with a melt-in-your-mouth, fudge-like texture and rich caramel flavor.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep your workstation
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set it within arm’s reach of your stovetop. Measure all ingredients ahead of time for mise en place: combine granulated and brown sugar in one bowl, mix heavy cream and whole milk in another, cut butter into 4 individual 1-tablespoon pieces, and set out pecans, vanilla, and salt. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan, making sure the thermometer tip does not touch the pan’s base to avoid false temperature readings.
Heat sugar base
Pour the combined sugars, heavy cream, and whole milk into the prepared saucepan, and set the burner to medium heat. Stir constantly with a smooth wooden spoon until all sugar fully dissolves, about 3 to 4 minutes, and the mixture comes to a gentle, steady rolling boil. Avoid scraping the sides of the pan as you stir, as stuck sugar crystals can fall into the mixture and cause grainy pralines.
Reach soft ball stage
Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, stop stirring entirely and let it cook undisturbed until the candy thermometer reads 235°F (113°C), known as the soft-ball stage, which takes 8 to 10 minutes. Watch the temperature closely: overcooking will produce hard, crumbly pralines, while undercooking will leave them runny and sticky. If you do not have a candy thermometer, test doneness by dropping a tiny dot of the hot mixture into a small bowl of ice water: it should form a soft, pliable ball that flattens easily when pressed between your fingers.
Add butter and mix-ins
Immediately remove the saucepan from heat the moment the mixture hits 235°F (113°C). Add the cut butter pieces, pecan halves, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt to the hot sugar, but do not stir the mixture. Let it rest undisturbed for 5 full minutes to cool slightly, which prevents sugar crystallization when you beat the candy.
Beat praline mixture
After the 5-minute rest period, stir the mixture vigorously and consistently with your wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes. Stop stirring once the glossy mixture turns slightly lighter and opaque, thickens to a slow, pudding-like consistency, and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Do not over-beat, as the mixture will set too quickly in the pan and become impossible to scoop into mounds.
Scoop and set pralines
Working quickly, use a 2-tablespoon (30 ml) cookie scoop or metal spoon to drop rounded mounds of the mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave 2 inches (5 cm) of space between each mound, as the warm pralines will spread slightly as they cool. Let the pralines sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, until they are fully firm to the touch with a smooth, matte, creamy surface.
Tips
2.Avoid making pralines on very humid or rainy days, as excess moisture in the air will prevent the candy from setting properly and leave it sticky and soft even after cooling.
3.Store fully cooled pralines in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper at room temperature for up to 1 week. Do not refrigerate pralines, as cold temperatures will cause sugar crystallization and a grainy texture.
OMG these pralines taste EXACTLY like the ones I bought on a trip to the French Quarter last year! I was so nervous I’d mess them up since candy making feels intimidating, but the step-by-step instructions were so clear. 30 minutes start to finish? No way! My whole family devoured half the batch before they even fully cooled. 10/10 will make again for our next neighborhood potluck.
These were SO good, but I burned my first batch because I got distracted answering a work call 😅 Don’t walk away from the stove when the sugar is bubbling, y’all! Second batch turned out perfect, though. I added a tiny pinch of extra sea salt on top and it cut the sweetness perfectly.
Made these for my kid’s end of season soccer team cookout and every single parent asked for the recipe. I thought pralines were fancy bakery-only stuff, but these were way easier than I expected. Chewy, buttery, pecan-packed—game changer for our dessert rotation. My youngest asked if we can make them every Sunday for family dinner.
I’ve tried three different praline recipes online and this is the only one that didn’t come out grainy! The tip to stir consistently once you add the pecans? Total lifesaver. I brought a tin to my book club last night and people were fighting over the last piece.
These taste wonderful, but I found the cook time listed was a little short for my stovetop—my sugar didn’t hit the soft ball stage for almost 12 extra minutes! I’m used to making old-fashioned pralines on my vintage gas range, so maybe newer stoves are different? Still turned out tasty, just took longer than expected.
If you need a guaranteed hit for any holiday party or potluck, MAKE THESE. I brought them to our office holiday potluck last week and the tin was empty in 10 minutes. People kept asking if I ordered them from a fancy New Orleans candy shop! The texture is perfect—not too crumbly, not too chewy, just right.
These are so rich and delicious! I made them as a post-hike treat for my trail group this weekend, but I had to make a second batch because I ate too many while I was portioning them out 😂 Only note: I wish the recipe specified how big to make each praline, I made mine a little too big and they were super filling.
Just pulled my first batch out 2 minutes ago and snuck a bite once it was cool enough—OH MY GOODNESS. That buttery pecan flavor is insane. I was worried medium difficulty meant I’d mess it up, but the instructions were so straightforward. Can’t wait to bring these in for the office break room tomorrow!
Y’all. I grew up eating my grandma’s pralines in the 7th ward and I was so skeptical a random internet recipe could measure up. This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to hers at home. The balance of brown sugar, butter, and pecans is spot on. I almost cried when I took the first bite, it tasted like childhood.
I tried swapping the butter for vegan butter and the heavy cream for oat cream to make these dairy free, and they just didn’t set right. They were super runny and never firmed up, even after 2 hours in the fridge. Bummed because the flavor was great, just the texture was off.
I’ve never made candy in my LIFE and these worked on the first try!!! I was so scared I’d mess up the soft ball stage, but I bought a cheap candy thermometer from the grocery store and followed the directions exactly. They look just like the photos, I’m so proud of myself 😭 Gonna surprise my roommate with them when she gets home from work.
These were amazing! We hosted a Mardi Gras themed dinner party last weekend and these were the star of the dessert table. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is that I found them a tiny bit too sweet for my taste, but that’s just personal preference—all of our guests raved about them.
Made these as a little end-of-week treat for my 4th grade students and they went WILD. Even the kids who say they ‘don’t like nuts’ were asking for seconds. I prepped all my ingredients ahead of time (mise en place for the win!) and the whole process took exactly 28 minutes, so the cook time is spot on. So easy to fit in after school before dinner.
I’ve been obsessing over old-school Southern desserts lately and these are hands down the best thing I’ve made all year. They taste exactly like the pralines my grandma used to bring back from her work trips to New Orleans when I was a kid. I’m already planning to make tins of these for neighbor gifts this Christmas.
I run a small backyard BBQ pop-up on weekends and I added these pralines as a side dessert last weekend, and people were adding them on to every single order. I charged $3 a piece and sold out in 45 minutes. The recipe scales super easily too—I tripled the batch for this weekend and it worked perfectly, no issues with grainy sugar or weird texture. 10/10, worth every minute of stirring.
These were really tasty! I accidentally used light brown sugar instead of dark brown because that’s what I had in my pantry, and they were a little lighter in color and milder in flavor than I expected, but still really good. Next time I’ll grab dark brown sugar for that deeper, caramel flavor I love in pralines.
Just made these for my son’s high school football team bake sale and they sold out before I even finished setting up my table! I added a handful of chopped bourbon-soaked pecans to half the batch for the adults and people were going crazy for them. Such a versatile recipe, I’m never using another praline recipe again.
Y’all I’m a broke college student with zero fancy kitchen equipment, no candy thermometer, nothing. I used the cold water test to check for soft ball stage and these still turned out perfect! I spent like $8 total on ingredients and made a dozen huge pralines, way cheaper than buying them from the fancy candy shop by campus. My roommates are already begging me to make another batch this weekend.