Pralines

There's a fantastic little Cajun restaurant in my town. Every once in a while a friend and I have one of their delectable pralines after a po' boy lunch. Every time I have one I think... I bet I can make these. So recently I found a few recipes that looked good and gave praline making a try. I must admit there's kind of an art to it.

What you need:

• 1 ½ cups pecans (I used pecans and almonds)
• 1 ½ cups sugar
•  ¾ cup brown sugar
•  6 tablespoons butter
•  ½ cup milk
•  1 teaspoon vanilla
•  salt, pinch

What you do:
In large saucepan over medium heat, lightly toast pecans. Watch carefully, you don't want them to burn.

Add sugar, butter, brown sugar and milk to the pecans.

Slowly bring the mixture to a boil. Don't stir the mixture once it starts to boil! Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees. I use a thermometer to get the temperature just right.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and salt. Stir well and allow to cool (a minute or two) just enough to thicken a bit. Continue to stir while it's cooling. It should start to lose its sheen.

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool completely.

Confection Perfection!

This batch of pralines was made for my special friend's Birthday.  Happy Birthday Friend!!!