Easy Microwave Pralines Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my pralines get hard? ›

If you beat too long, the candy will seize and start to crumble. If you don't beat it long enough, then pralines won't set properly and will stay soft and sticky.

Avoid The Humidity

Plan to make your pralines on a cool, dry day. If it's humid or rainy, as it was the first time I made pralines, the candy might end up with a more sugary, grainy texture.

Since the problem is mostly that the sugar in the pralines gets hard and crystallized, you might try softening them the way you'd soften hard brown sugar. Place a terracotta sugar saver in the container or something else that's slightly damp, like a few slices of apple or a slice of fresh bread.

Pralines are a much-appreciated festive treat, but come to think of it, they're simply delicious at any time of the year. When your pralines turn white, you are seeing the recrystallization of sugar. And you are right that honey does technically slow down the rate at which crystals form in candy.

Pralines should be cooked to 236°F (soft ball stage) so that it is still pliable when it cools and so it maintains the smooth sandy texture typical of pralines. This is impossible to determine without a thermometer, and if you overheat the sugar, you are guaranteed to make pralines that are too firm and grainy.

The process of turning sugar into a hard, smooth, transparent confection involves heating a sugar/corn syrup/water solution to 300 – 310° F. {150 - 155° C.}, or what is known as the hard crack stage of sugar. The use of a candy thermometer is not essential, but highly recommended and accuracy is critical.

Sometimes, as syrup boils, sugar starts to form back into crystals, which turn hard and cloudy. Crystallisation can be caused by stirring, or a grain of something other than sugar getting into the pan, or often just bad luck.

Keep an eye on the batch, the caramel must not become too dark, otherwise it will be bitter. (The ideal is to have a pan large enough so that the sugar is distributed in a thin layer.) Pour the hot caramel over the hazelnuts and almonds and coat them. Then let cool completely.

Pralines will keep well for 1 or 2 weeks at room temperature. After that, the sugar will begin to crystallize and the candy will get harder and gritty. To ensure they stay fresh, proper storage is key. Pack them in an airtight container as soon as the candy hardens and use parchment or wax paper to separate layers.

Pecan pralines last up to three weeks. So it is better to consume the pecan pralines in the first two to three weeks after you make them. After three weeks, the pralines will not go bad but the sugar will begin to re-crystallize and so they will lose their delicious creaminess and will get a little harder to chew.

What is the soft ball stage for pralines? ›

Soft-ball stage refers to a specific temperature range when cooking sugar syrups, occurring between 235 and 245 F. In addition to using a candy thermometer, this stage can be determined by dropping a spoonful of hot syrup into a bowl of very cold water.

Butter pecan is a flavor combination of pecans, butter, and pure vanilla flavoring, making this a sweet treat you want to bite your teeth into. Pecan pralines are another popular treat option using pecans. However, pecan pralines are much sweeter and more sugar forward compared to butter pecan.

A praliné is a paste that is a mixture of nuts, chocolate and sugar. While in Belgium, a 'praline' is defined as a filled chocolate candy. Note that the term 'praline' is of Belgian origin.

Allow the pralines to cool completely, then store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature, stored in a cool and dry place, for at least five days or longer.

pra·​line ˈprä-ˌlēn ˈprā- ˈprȯ- : a confection of nuts and sugar: such as. a. : almonds cooked in boiling sugar until brown and crisp.

Because excessive softness in candy results from high relative humidity, cook hard candies, such as nut brittle, to 2 degrees higher than the temperature your recipe calls for. The additional 2 degrees in cooking temperature will compensate for moisture in the air, so your candy will still have the correct texture.

Because hard candies have a low moisture content, it will absorb moisture from the air, making it softer. In the case of soft candies, they have a higher content, and when the air is less moist than the candy then some of the moisture will be released into the air, making the soft candy hard.