Pralinedust Recipes

Steps:

• Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring mixture constantly.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes, or until a candy thermometer registers 236 degrees (soft ball stage).
• Remove mixture from heat, and add butter (do not stir).
• Let stand until candy thermometer reaches 150 degrees.
• Stir in pecans and vanilla, using a wooden spoon, and stir constantly until candy begins to thicken.
• Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, working rapidly, onto wax paper.
• Let stand until firm.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In large saucepan over medium heat, combine pecans, sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cream and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat to softball stage (238 degrees F), then add the butter and pecans. Continue cooking until hardball stage (245 degrees F). Spoon large dollops of it onto a silicone mat or parchment lined baking tray. The pralines will spread and crystallize as they cool.

Steps:

• Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface, preferably granite or wood.
• Put all the ingredients in a large pot and attach a candy thermometer to the side. You need to be sure the thermometer goes deep into the mixture. Turn the heat to medium high.
• Fill a bowl that's larger than the pot halfway with ice water and set it aside.
• Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. When everything has melted together, start checking the temperature. When the thermometer reaches exactly 236 degrees F, remove the pot from the heat and stick it in the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Stir for 45 seconds while the pot is in the ice bath to evenly cool the entire mixture.
• With a large spoon, start dropping puddles of the mixture onto the parchment. Make sure you're getting some pecans in every spoonful. If you feel like it, sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Let them cool all the way. If you're in a humid environment, they might stay sticky, but put them in front of a fan and they should get dry.
• Store them carefully in a tin, and don't stack them very high-three layers max, separated by wax paper.
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Steps:

• Butter a 9-inch square metal baking pan.
• Sift granulated sugar through a sieve into a bowl to remove any lumps or large crystals, then rub brown sugar through sieve into bowl. Pour sugars into a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan, being careful not to get sugar on side of pan.
• Add cream, butter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook over very low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and washing down any sugar crystals on side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until sugar is dissolved (do not let simmer), 10 to 15 minutes.
• Clamp on candy thermometer, then boil syrup over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until it registers 236°F and a teaspoon of syrup dropped into a small bowl of cold water holds a very soft ball when pressed between your fingers, 3 to 6 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat, leaving thermometer in place, and cool, undisturbed, until syrup registers 220°F, 1 to 3 minutes. Stir syrup with cleaned and dried wooden spoon until thickened and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes, then immediately stir in pecans. Working very fast (syrup hardens quickly), pour into baking pan, scraping sides of saucepan with wooden spoon.
• Let mixture harden at room temperature, about 45 minutes. Cut and break into pieces.

Steps:

• Spray a baking sheet with vegetable-oil cooking spray, wiping off any excess with a paper towel; set aside. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir to combine. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Uncover, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook without stirring until the sugar mixture reaches 295 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
• Stir in 3/4 cup pistachios, the butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Return to heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Working quickly, spread mixture. Set aside to cool.
• Break brittle into small pieces. Place in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until powdery.

Steps:

• Lightly brown the nuts in an oven.
• cook the water and sugar until the caramel stage is reached.
• mix in the nuts.
• Turn out the micture on a baking sheet lined with baking parchement and lightly oiled.
• Allow to become quite cold.
• Crush to a coarse sand texture with a rolling pin, or break into chunks and place in a processor with a blade attachment.
• Store in an airtight container.