Easy Microwave Pralines Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What causes pralines not to harden? ›

The simple answer is that there is too much moisture in your candy. One or more factors could be contributing to this problem. In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture.

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.

When your pralines turn white, you are seeing the recrystallization of sugar.

If your pralines don't set up, or they get dry and crumbly, don't toss them out! Eat them with a spoon, ball them up and dip in chocolate, or chop them up and use as a topping on cake or ice cream!

A little crystallization in pralines is inevitable but adding a bit of corn syrup can help keep crystals from forming. In this recipe I also butter the sides of the pot and only stir before the sugar comes to a boil. After the candy reaches soft-ball stage, it is left to cool for 10 minutes without agitation.

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.

Just make sure you buy your nuts raw and not already roasted. The main reason for that is that we will cook the nuts in a pan for 10-15 min. If you do this with roasted nuts, they will end up being over-roasted and your praline will taste very bitter.

235° F–240° F

At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand. Fudge , pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage.

They never go “bad,” but after a week or so the sugar starts to crystalize and they lose the characteristic snap that you enjoy when biting them.

Does homemade pralines need to be refrigerated? ›

Should You Refrigerate Pralines? There is no need to refrigerate pecan pralines. They will keep for about three weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.

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.

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.

The pralines can be grainy if it's not mixed enough, mixed too much, heated through all the way, or if the sugar doesn't reach the correct temperature.

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

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. Pralines ship very well, so they make a good care package gift!