Pralines for Mardi Gras

Backyard pecan trees this morning

These are pecan trees. It's where pralines come from.

I made some yesterday -- Mardi Gras was the excuse. Here's the recipe, from The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collin, who wrote it in 1974 and dedicated it "For the city and the people of New Orleans."

The squirrels eat our pecans, so we buy them at the farmers' market. They're harvested in the fall. You can order fresh pecans from many places, such as Sheffield Pecans. You probably won't want grocery store pecans ever again.

I always toast pecans first. Spread them on a cookie sheet and put them in a 350° oven until you get a toasty whiff, between 5 and 10 minutes. Watch carefully, so they don't burn.

Pralines

1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 1/2 C. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. milk
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 C. butter (They call for salted, but I used unsalted and it was fine.)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 21/2 C. pecan halves (toasted)

Combine the sugars, salt, milk, and cream of tartar. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, wiping the crystals from the side of the pan with a rubber spatula. Cook to 236°-238° on a candy thermometer, then cool to 220°. Add the butter, vanilla, and pecans and beat until creamy. They say use a wire whisk, but I used my immersion blender. When it began to thicken, I switched to a sturdy wooden spoon (not the long-handled one). Don't beat too long. I've done that before, and you end up with grainy candy. If you're a fudge-maker, don't beat as long as you would for fudge. Stop just before that.

While still soft, drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. (They say butter it, but that's not necessary.)  When the pralines cool and firm up, cut the waxed paper between them and wrap each one.

They say leave 4 inches between the candies, but that wasn't enough. I ended up cutting more waxed paper squares,  about 7" squares. Of course, it depends on the size of your candies. I made them two or three bites worth. After I wrapped them I taped them shut because they kept popping open. Clark said he felt guilty eating them after I'd gone to all that trouble.  But he managed.