My New Orleans-style pralines recipe uses just a few easy ingredients for a sweet, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth treat that will make you feel like you're on Bourbon Street! Trust me when I say, they're easy to make, but it's so hard to eat just one. 😊
You might be wondering what I know about pralines, being that I'm from Texas! Between Louisiana's strong cultural influence on my hometown of Houston and all my visits to the state (shoutout to Loretta's), I've tasted plenty and sought to recreate the best praline recipe ever in my own kitchen.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my pecan praline sauce, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - You only need a handful of common kitchen ingredients--that you probably already have--for this classic Louisiana confection. And I developed this pralines candy recipe using a regular food thermometer, so you don't even have to have a candy thermometer.
Authentic Southern Flavor - Whether you say puh-kaan or PEE-can, you'll taste them in every bite, along with decadent notes of brown butter, vanilla, and caramelized sugar. It truly gets no better than this traditional praline recipe!
👉🏾 I love praline flavor, so there are plenty more tasty treats for you to try, like my baked brie & praline dip recipe, praline sweet potatoes recipe, apple praline monkey bread, and butter pecan sticky rolls!
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What You'll Need for this Recipe
Evaporated Milk adds wonderful richness to the pralines. Some praline recipes use heavy whipping cream or sweetened condensed milk, but evaporated milk provides the best result, in my experience.
Unsalted Butter allows you to control the amount of saltiness in the pralines, which is important for consistent results because salt content varies by brand of butter. And time is of the essence with this recipe, so let's not bother with pausing to taste test, ok?!
Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar for balanced sweetness with a touch of old-fashioned molasses flavor.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Vanilla - You can use vanilla extract to flavor your pralines, or an equal amount of a quality spirit like bourbon whiskey, cognac, or rum.
Chocolate - Once set, you can dip the pralines in melted dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate for an extra layer of deliciousness.
Nuts - Of course, these are pecan pralines, but you can use almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, etc. The sky is the limit!
How to Make Homemade Praline Candy from Scratch
- Step One: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Stir in the milk, sugars, and salt until dissolved. (Photo 2)
- Step Three: Continue to cook until the mixture is boiling and reaches 235 degrees Fahrenheit. (Photos 3 and 4)
Pro Tip #1
It's important to stir the mixture regularly to keep it moving so that the sugars don't burn, which will ruin the taste of the pralines.
- Step Four: Off heat, stir in the vanilla and pecans. (Photos 5 and 6)
- Step Five: Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a lined sheet pan. (Photo 7)
- Step Six: Let the pralines set until cooled and firm. (Photo 8)
Pro Tip #2
The praline mixture will thicken as you work through steps four and five. If it gets too stodgy, stir in warmed evaporated milk, one spoonful at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your praline mixture either has too much liquid or it didn't reach the appropriate temperature. Signs they won't set include the mixture not thickening as you work with it, and the pralines spreading and running into each other.
Thankfully, you can scrape the ingredients back into your pot and try again!
Store fully set pralines at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Yes. To freeze, place the pralines in an airtight, freezer-safe container. They'll keep for up to three months, and some people even enjoy eating them frozen!
How to Serve
Temperature: Pralines are best enjoyed at room temperature for that soft, melt-in-your-mouth effect. Warm them, and they'll fall apart. Chill them, and they'll be firmer--kind of chewy--without the same creamy mouthfeel. Some people like to eat them frozen, though!
Pairings: Not to put you into a sugar coma, but homemade pralines and ice cream is an unbeatable combination.
Occasions: There's never a bad time to eat pralines, in my opinion, but Mardi Gras season is a great time to indulge. Or add them to your Christmas cookie boxes right between the peppermint bark brownies and the salted peanut butter cookies!
More Favorite Praline-Flavored Dishes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Now that you know how to make easy pecan pralines at home, I hope you'll enjoy them soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Pecan Pralines Recipe
Equipment
- parchment paper or wax paper
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ¾ cup pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or wax paper, and set aside.
- Make the Candy Base: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, evaporated milk, and salt until sugars are dissolved.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup evaporated milk, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Continue cooking and stirring every so often until the temperature reaches 235 degrees Fahrenheit (about 10 minutes), then remove from heat. The liquid should be boiling, thickened, opaque, and glossy.It's important to keep the mixture moving so that the sugars don't burn on the sides or bottom of the pan.
- Finish Praline Mix: Carefully stir in the pecan halves and vanilla extract until the mixture is uniform and loses a bit of its shine (about two minutes).The mixture will bubble a bit when you add the vanilla extract. This is normal.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ¾ cup pecans
- Make and Set the Candy: Use kitchen spoon to drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto prepared sheet pan, leaving about an inch between each drop so that the pralines don't run together.If the mixture becomes too thick as you're working, stir in one spoon of warmed evaporated milk at a time to thin it out, then resume.
- Let pralines set at room temperature for about 45 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Pralines are set when they are solid, cool to the touch, and have just a hint of shine.
Notes
Thankfully, you can scrape the ingredients back into your pot and try again! Storage Store fully set pralines at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two weeks. To freeze, place the pralines in an airtight, freezer-safe container. They'll keep for up to three months, and some people even enjoy eating them frozen!
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