Chubby’s White Pralines
A lifelong praline devotee, I’d never seen a white version until longtime customers and friends Diane and John B. Connally III introduced me to Ginny Marye Sharman. I lamented that I’d been searching in vain for a great, new, party-worthy praline, when Ginny said, “I have the one for you. It’s my daddy’s.” She sent me the recipe with the following note, “Chubby Marye, my daddy, was from Alexandria, Louisiana, and loved to cook! He always made his white pralines on cold winter evenings. I learned to make them watching him. It’s a family tradition that he learned from his mother, Mama Dee.” I tried it immediately. Not only was it the easiest praline recipe I’ve ever encountered, it was also one of the tastiest. My mother’s recipe, for example, demands intensive beating with a wooden spoon. Ginny’s recipe takes a beating, but for only half the time. Chubby’s pralines make a fine finale for any party; or wrap them up in waxed paper, seal with an embossed sticker, pile them in a decorative bowl, and hand them out at the end of the evening as favors. (Pictured on page 164, top tray.)
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 24
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast until golden brown and aromatic, 7 to 9 minutes; set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the sugar and milk to a boil; decrease the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (234° to 240°F on a candy thermometer). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter, salt, pecans, and vanilla. Beat the mixture for about 5 minutes with a wooden spoon, or until the mixture begins to stiffen. Quickly drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. (If you aren’t fast enough, the mixture will become too hard to scoop.) Wrap individually in waxed paper, or store in an airtight container.
variation
Step 2
To make even whiter pralines, omit the vanilla extract and drop in a halved vanilla bean with the sugar and milk. Remove the vanilla bean as soon as the mixture comes to a boil. Use the pointed tip of a knife to dig out the vanilla seeds and add them back to the praline mixture.
do it early
Step 3
Individually wrapped or stored in an airtight container, the pralines will keep for about 3 days.
