Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines Recipe
We will be making these Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines all year long.
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We will be making these Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines all year long. New Orleans' favorite candy is a true marriage of old-world European tradition combined with Southern ingenuity. When the French settled New Orleans in the 1700s, they brought their version of pralines, a simple sweet made by cooking whole almonds with granulated sugar until they became crisp and caramelized. African-American cooks transformed the French treat by using abundant, native-grown pecans in place of the more costly almonds; they eventually stirred butter and milk or cream into the original recipe. These innovative bakers created a new, richer, and more irresistible confection, and their pralines—simultaneously crunchy, creamy, fudgy, and sweet—have become a true American classic. For ease in shaping big, beautiful pralines, portion the mixture into paper baking cups, removing them once the candies are set.