SPICED HOLIDAY PRALINES

Spiced Holiday Pralines image

Living in the South, Elizabeth Choinski has seen plenty of pralines in her time, flavored with the likes of chocolate and coffee. But she had never come upon pralines imbued with the classic spice flavors of the holidays. So she made her own, mixing cloves and cinnamon into the pot. The resulting pralines are superb: aromatic, creamy as they melt in your mouth, then crunchy from the nuts.

Provided by Melissa Clark

Time 50m

Yield 2 dozen pieces

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

400 grams granulated sugar (2 cups)
1/2 cup Steen's cane syrup or light molasses
230 grams pecan halves (2 cups)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 grams ground ginger (1 teaspoon)
5 grams ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
2 grams ground cloves (1/2 teaspoon)

Steps:

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cane syrup, pecans and 1/2 cup water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Remove saucepan from heat and immediately stir in butter, vanilla extract and spices. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Carefully using a hand-held mixer, or a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip until mixture changes to a lighter color and becomes creamy and just starts to stiffen as it cools (it should still be warm). The pecans will break up a bit.
Use a tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop to drop mixture onto two parchment-paper-lined baking sheets (12 pralines on each sheet). Use a spatula to flatten each praline. Let cool completely and store in a tin, creating separate layers with wax paper.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 161, UnsaturatedFat 6 grams, Carbohydrate 23 grams, Fat 8 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 3 milligrams, Sugar 22 grams, TransFat 0 grams