These are seriously the BEST Southern praline pecans. With buttery brown sugar flavor and sweet, nutty crunch, they’re little bites of pure heaven! A little bit candy and a little bit cookie, these easy pralines melt right in your mouth, perfect for holidays and snacking.
I have been SO darn excited to share this pecan pralines recipe with you guys! After testing them for weeks with the help of my mother-in-law (a self-proclaimed pecan praline lover who tastes them wherever she goes), I’m telling you that these are the BEST pecan pralines. I’m completely addicted.
There are a fair number of pecan pralines that I would describe as being quite firm, even hard. And then some are more grainy or even super chewy. With this recipe, we set out to create something right in the middle. Pralines that are sweet, buttery, smooth, and melt-in-your-mouth.
Enjoy them!! These are seriously SO good. No store-bought pecan praline will ever be the same after trying this homemade pecan praline recipe, and they don’t take long to make. You might also love my praline pecan brownies and praline cheesecake. And if you need a little extra help, check out my video of the process below.
What’s the Secret to Perfect Pecan Pralines?
What you will find in common between various recipes is that pecan pralines consist of these main components: Pecans, sugar, butter, and milk or cream. There are a few additional things in these pralines that contribute to their flavor and texture and make them a step above the rest:
- Two types of sugar. Personally, I like my pralines not too soft, but definitely not hard. Not grainy and not chewy. And definitely melt-in-your-mouth with lots of butter and brown sugar flavor. Using a combination of brown sugar AND white sugar helps achieve this perfect middle ground.
- A helping hand from baking soda. Just a little, to keep the praline consistency smooth and not too firm, and the flavor rich and caramelized.
- The right cooking technique. I recommend a candy thermometer for this recipe. It’s super helpful in tracking the temperature, which is key in homemade caramel recipes. I cover the exact technique that I use to make buttery, perfect pralined pecans every time.
And last, but not least, this is the first in a series of cookies (even though this is technically candy) that I’ll be sharing over the next few weeks as we head towards Christmas. I’ve got some super fun things coming, and I can’t wait to share them with you! In the meantime, also check out more sweets like buckeyes, saltine toffee, and classic chocolate fudge.
Ingredients for Praline Pecans
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Southern praline pecans. Scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.
- Sugar – After much testing, I found a combination of white sugar and brown sugar to be the best for making pralines. All brown sugar yielded a grainy, unappealing texture. On the other hand, white sugar required baking soda to caramelize, and the flavor just wasn’t the same. Using both sugars was best for a rich, caramelized flavor without graininess.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Half-and-half, cream (as I used), buttermilk, and even evaporated milk all worked well. I liked the extra creaminess and straightforward flavor of the cream, but I also really liked the evaporated milk. Whole milk doesn’t have the same fat content, so your pralines may turn out thinner.
- Butter – Butter is a key ingredient in terms of flavoring and keeping the pralines from getting too firm. I use unsalted butter. If you’re using salted butter, I’d suggest reducing the added salt in the recipe by about half, or to taste.
- Baking Soda – While not totally necessary, I include baking soda in my pralines. It not only enhances the brown sugar and caramel-y flavor and color, but it also keeps them tender. If you leave it out, you’ll have a firmer praline. Finally, it helps the sugars dissolve fully, so that you don’t have a grainy praline.
- Pecans – Clearly necessary here. This might seem funny, but make sure your pecans are at room temperature. If they’re cold, it can impact how the praline sets.
- Salt – For flavor. Never underestimate the power of a little salt. See the note above if you’re using salted butter, as you’ll need less.
- Vanilla Extract – Also for flavor. Vanilla paste makes a good 1:1 substitute if needed.
How to Make Praline Pecans
Making pralines from scratch really comes down to temperature control and proper stirring. Don’t worry if your praline pecans don’t come out exactly right the first time. Chances are, even if they’re not perfect, they’ll still taste delicious!
- Prepare your tools. To make these Southern pecan pralines, you’ll first want to set up your parchment paper and have a tablespoon-sized scoop ready to go. Once your mixture is ready, it can firm up quickly, so you want to be able to move fast.
- Make the glaze. Add the sugars, heavy cream, butter, and baking soda to a sturdy pot. Heat it over medium heat, stirring regularly. It’ll melt and may seem like it’s taking its time getting going, but it will finally begin to boil.
- Cook to 236ºF. When the mixture foams up and starts to boil, stir constantly until it reaches 236°F. You will want to have a candy thermometer or something similar handy. Candy is sensitive to temperature.
- Stir in the pecans. Once it’s at the right temperature, remove the pot from the stove. Add the pecans, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula for about 3 1/2 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken, and the longer you stir it, the thicker it will get. The thicker it gets, the firmer your pralines will be. It may take 2-3 times of making these to get comfortable with knowing that it’s the right consistency, but generally the 3 1/2 minute mark works well.
- Shape the pralines. Finally, drop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the parchment paper and let them cool and firm up. You can spoon a praline or two and see if you like the amount they spread, and if they spread too much, just stir them for a little longer.
- Let them set. At this point, you just have to let them firm up. That’s probably the hardest part for me. They are so good, I just want to eat them all! They will be firm enough to handle within an hour, but do firm up more as they sit overnight.
Getting to the Soft-Ball Stage
While a candy thermometer is the easiest way to tell if your praline has reached the right temperature, you can also test that the praline reaches the “soft-ball stage”. Drop a small amount of the boiling caramel into cold water. Caramel that’s heated to 235ºF and 240ºF will form a soft, flexible ball that you can flatten between your fingers. At this stage, it’s ready to remove from the heat and stir.
Tips for the Best Praline Pecans
- Use a candy thermometer. You want to make sure you have the right temperature or your pralines will not turn out correctly.
- Don’t over-stir. Take care not to over-stir your pralines at the end of cooking. Even if they’re cooked to the right temperature, overmixing can make the pralines too firm once they cool down.
- Do a tester. On the other hand, not enough stirring or undercooking can make pecan pralines too soft. If you scoop one or two out and they seem to spread a lot, try stirring a little longer.
- Use a wooden spoon. Avoid plastic utensils when working with hot candy, as they run the risk of melting. I’m also not a fan of metal spoons as they tend to conduct heat. I recommend a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula.
- Have plenty of ingredients on hand. While I’m hopeful these will turn out great the first time around, they often take people 2-3 times to get just right.
- Work quickly when scooping out the pralines, so the mixture doesn’t firm up too quickly.
How to Store
- Store airtight. Homemade pralines can be stored airtight at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. They do start to dry out and crystallize with time. If you’re making these ahead for the holidays or otherwise, consider freezing them.
- Freeze. Pre-freeze the cooled pralines on a baking sheet, and then transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Use sheets of parchment paper to separate any layers. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature when ready to serve.
Watch How They’re Made
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Best Southern Praline Pecans
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1 cup (225g) packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ¼ cups (212g) pecan halves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Set out parchment paper for making the pralines on and have a tablespoon sized scoop handy and ready to go.
- Add everything but the pecans, salt and vanilla extract to a medium pot and heat over medium heat. Stir regularly until it begins to foam and boil.
- When it begins to foam and boil, stir constantly until it reaches 236°F.
- Remove from heat and add the pecans, salt and vanilla extract.
- Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula for 3 ½ minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. The longer you stir, the thicker the mixture gets. You don't want it to get too thick, or it'll be hard to scoop the pralines and they'll dry more firm.
- Quickly drop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto parchment paper and allow them to cool and firm. If the mixture is too thin and spreads more than you want, stir a little bit more. If the mixture starts to cool too much as you're scooping, place it back on the warm burner (but don't turn it on) and let it keep the mixture warmer. I find it helps to stir the mixture after every few scoops.
- When pralines are cool and firm, store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Categories:
Christmas, Cookies, Holidays, Other Sweets, Recipes, Recipes with video, Sweets and Treats, Thanksgiving,
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My step daughter LOVES pecan pralines and will always stop at a candy store to buy them. I made this recipe as a part of her Christmas gift and she was in love! She now has requested them for her birthday!! This recipe is now saved as a family tradition!!
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear that!
I made this for the first time. It turned out great I see what I can do better next time!
I’m glad you were happy with them!
They aren’t creamy and I didn’t overcook. Will try a different recipe next
Oh my word these are amazing! I live in the UK and have friends bring me pecans from tye US. That makes them precious and if I mess up I waste these lovely nuts. I have made one other recipe which didn’t come out thick enough. My family always jokes that I try but never get Christmas sweets quite right. They eat them anyway but it doesn’t make me feel very good! Anyway I have made these twice with perfect results. They disappeared so quickly that I had to make another batch which I doubled. Perfect again! The only difference for mine is that I toasted the pecans first to give an extra crunch. This will become a Christmas tradition. Lovely to give as gifts and I feel so good when everyone tells me how wonderful they are. Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
That’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad they are a hit!
I made these last year and they came out so yummy! perfect recipe. Looking forward to making these again this year and giving them to friends and family.
Awesome! Glad to hear it! I just made a bunch for gifts yesterday too. 🙂
Made these this evening and followed the instructions step by step. They turned out perfect. I was also able to set aside individual pecan halves as smaller treat portions.
Since this was my first time making pralines, I am glad I found such a simple and delicious recipe to use. Thank you for posting it!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
JusT FiNuSHeD making these!! WaS WoNDeRinG if you can FReeZe these? Can’t WaiT to GiVe them a try!!! 😋
I haven’t tried freezing them myself, but they should be fine to freeze. Generally they can be frozen for up to 3 months.
I followed your recipe to a T. Very dry, I couldn’t stir for the whole 3.5 minutes. Disappointed I wasted expensive pecans for this
This recipe turned out great!
So glad to hear that!
This is one of the better recipes. The cuisine, however, is not American. It’s French creole.
Hi! Have you ever doubled this recipe?
I don’t think I have. I’d think it’d be ok.
I doubled the recipe and it did not turn out right. Stayed gooey and extremely soft. I’ve made single batches lots of time and never had this same issue only doing a single.
Bummer! Thanks for the update!
Did anyone try doubling the recipe? I am about ready to try it now
I don’t have enough heavy cream, can I use whole milk?
Whole milk doesn’t have the same fat content, so it may thin the pralines out a bit. I’m not sure if beating it longer would help that or not, but you could try it.
The taste was perfect. The recipe is excellent. Nonetheless, I would not recommend a plastic spoon. My plastic scraper melted in the heated candy.
I made these last year and they were so amazing!! I am looking forward to make them again this year for Christmas and give them as gift to my friends and family.
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Hi, I would love to make these and ship them to friends and family in other states for Christmas. Do you think they would hold up well? How would I do that, exactly? Thank you!! <3
I will be honest that I haven’t done much with shipping. I’d think you’d want to package them with some bubble wrap around the container their in to insulate them a bit from getting tossed around. You could also consider making them a little bigger/thicker to maybe be less easily broken.
Mine turned out too soft. Maybe I didn’t let it boil long enough? I even tried to harden them in the freezer?
Do you have a candy or food thermometer? That would help with knowing that you cooked it to the right temperature. If you did, then you may not have stirred long enough afterwards. If you scoop one or two out and they seem to spread too much, keep stirring a little longer.
Mine came out soft too, after I had stirred it longer than the prescribed time & used a candy thermometer to 236F. I scraped it off the parchment & reheated it to 250F and then stirred again & spooned it back out onto parchment & it worked! They’re delicious!