Our waistlines can’t seem to catch a break this month. From National Donut Day on June 5 to tomorrow’s National Pralines Day, it’s difficult to resist celebrating foodie holidays. (Oh, and next month is National Ice Cream Month.) If you’re planning to eat a praline or two tomorrow, June 24, look no further than Brennan’s of Houston. Their iconic dessert has been a family recipe since 1983.
Brennan’s New Orleans style prah-lines (not pray-lines) are not the traditional crispy kind; instead, they are much creamier and literally melt in your mouth. The Brennan’s kitchen churns out about 1,000 of the confections per day and up to 4,000 during the holiday season. If you can’t make it to Brennan’s tomorrow, don’t worry. Executive chef Danny Trace has shared the family recipe along with his personal tips to make your National Pralines Day a success.
His tips include: Use a heavy whisk or wooden spoon for stirring. Try to not over-stir, as this lightens the color too much. Once you drop the pralines on the wax paper, leave them alone for at least an hour. (Good luck with that!)
PRALINES
Recipe courtesy of chef Danny Trace, Brennan’s of Houston
1 quart whipping cream
1 lb. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
zest of 1 medium orange
1 1⁄2 cups medium chopped pecans
METHOD: Line three cookie sheets, preferably with parchment paper, but wax paper will also work. Also have dessert spoons close by to spoon the pralines onto the parchment when it’s time.
In a large heavy saucepan, slowly simmer cream, sugar, corn syrup and orange zest over low heat. As cream mixture simmers, be careful of boil-over in the early stages. Let mixture reduce, stirring occasionally.
When cream mixture first starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, you need to stir almost continuously until done. As mixture reduces and the sugar starts to caramelize, the mixture becomes thicker and begins to turn light brown in color. When mixture reaches the soft-ball stage of 240 degrees, stir in pecans. Continue stirring while looking for the point when mixture starts to pull away from sides of the pan.
Drop a small amount (quarter size) onto a lined cookie sheet. Watch to see if the praline runs out flat or holds a nice rounded top shape and if the praline has a dull looking appearance. Also, the mixture shouldn’t have an oily look while in the saucepan; that means the mixture has cooked too long.
When ready, the mixture should be close to a firm-ball stage of 248 degrees. However don’t depend entirely on the candy thermometer. Test every few minutes.
Use two dessert spoons to spoon out the pralines onto the lined cookie sheets. Use one spoon to dip up the hot mixture and the other one to push it off into the paper. You should be able to pick up a praline in about 30 minutes. It should appear dry and not be chewy. If after a couple of hours, you can’t pick one up, leave them on the pans in a cool dry area for a day or two, until they dry out.
