Have you ever walked into a candy shop and they are making fresh pralines? The smell is overwhelmingly warm and delicious, it's impossible to not take a free sample as they offer it to you. These melt-in-your-mouth gingerbread pecan pralines are a cross between a cookie and a candy. Gingerbread spice, crunchy pecans, butter, and brown sugar, are overloaded in every bite.
Gingerbread pecan pralines are a great "starter candy" to master before moving on to things like caramels, pumpkin marshmallows, and homemade snicker candy bars.
Ingredients
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- pecans
- salt
- butter
- vanilla
- gingerbread spice: you can make your own blend, but I prefer to purchase it already done for me.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- Heavy duty pot or non stick kettle
- High heat spatula
- ¼ cup measurer
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- candy thermometer
Check out more about the candy making equipment that I use in this blog post! It goes over equipment for making candy at home.
Baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ¼ cup measure, high heat spatula, candy thermometer, and small spatula
Nonstick kettle or heavy duty pot
Is a praline made from caramel?
Yes! A praline shares the same ingredients as caramel. For example, they both contain milk and sugar. A praline is a super saturated sugar candy without anything in it to inhibit crystalization. This means that the sugar will crystalize into a soft, fall apart texture. In caramel, corn syrup is used so this doesn't happen - keeping it soft and have a long stretch when you pull it.
Top Tip for how to make pralines at home
You have to make sure you stir these enough to cause the sugar to grain. It will be 2-3 minutes of vigourous stirring. The candy will all of a sudden go from glossy and clear to cloudy and stiff. If the pralines are too stiff to scoop, place it back on the heat for a little bit to warm back up.
How to make homemade pralines:
- Combine all of your ingredients except for nuts and flavor in thick bottomed pot.
- Heat over medium high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Stir the entire time.
- Cook until mix reaches 230F. Add in your nuts. Continue cooking and stirring until temperature reaches 237F. Remove from heat.
- Stir in flavor. Stir vigourously until candy loses shine and gets thick enough that it doesn't run when scooped on parchment paper.
- Scoop on parchment paper. Cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can homemade pralines be frozen? Storage recommendations.
Do not freeze or refrigerate homemade pralines. Freezing homemade pralines will cause the texture to change after they are thawed.
How long do homemade pralines last?
They have a short shelf life before they dry out, 3-4 days.
How to store homemade pralines?
Store pralines in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Video Instructions
Recipe
Gingerbread Praline Pecans
Equipment
- high heat spatula or wooden spoon
- thick bottomed pot
- baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- ¼ cup measurer
- small spatula or spoon
Ingredients
Sugar Slurry
- 350 grams Brown Sugar
- 350 grams Sugar
- 180 grams Heavy Cream
- 100 grams Milk
- 113 grams Butter
- 6 grams Salt
- 350 grams Pecans, chopped
- 15 grams gingerbread spice 1.5 tablespoons
- 10 grams Vanilla
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
- blend pecans and gingerbread spice. set aside.
- Combine sugar, brown sugar, cream, milk, and butter. Cook to 230F while stirring constantly.
- Add pecans mixed with gingerbread spice and salt. Cook until 237F while stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool undisturbed (don't stir) until 212F.
- Stir vigorously until mixture stiffens, looses its shine, and looks creamy. This is about 2-3 minutes.
- Scoop on prepared baking sheet. Cool.
- Store in an airtight container. Use as soon as possible. Pralines lose quality quickly in storage (about 4 days). Do not refrigerate or freeze.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!