Pralines

Do you like your Pralines chewy or crystallized?  I'm a chewy gal, but what the heck, I'll share a recipe for both today.  I probably shouldn't share either recipe with you because these are so darn dangerous.  Warning - do not make pralines unless you have a crowd to share them with because you probably won't be able to resist eating them all yourself.  Yes, that nearly happened to me - had to box them up and send them to out the door with the teens.  Oh my, sooooo good!

Notes:  The crystallized pralines are ready to eat in about 30 minutes, but the chewy pralines need several hours to set up. Be sure to have all ingredients ready to go - once the sugar syrup starts to boil, things happen pretty fast.  Be sure to have a parchment or silicone lined sheet pan close by too.  For best results, don't make pralines on a rainy or humid day.

Chewy Pralines

makes 10-15

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or Lyle's Golden Syrup , my preference)

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• pinch of salt

• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, whole or chopped

Directions

1. Have all ingredients ready, and have a silicone or parchment lined sheet pan prepared and set aside. 

2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine sugars, baking soda, cream, corn syrup, butter, and salt; stir to dissolve. 

3. Raise heat and bring mixture to a boil; don't stir while boiling. 

4. When mixture reaches 240F, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans. 

5. Working quickly, spoon mixture into 15 equal portions onto prepared sheet pan. 

6. Cool for several hours until caramel sets. 

7. Store on silicone or wax paper, in a single layer, in an airtight container.

Crystallized Pralines

makes 10-15

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• pinch of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup pecans, whole or chopped

Directions

1. Have all ingredients ready, and have a silicone or parchment lined sheet pan prepared and set aside. 

2. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine sugars, cream, butter, and salt; stir to dissolve. 

3. Raise heat and bring mixture to a boil; don't stir while boiling. 

4. When mixture reaches 240F, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans; continue to stir quickly for a minute or so until mixture starts to crystallize. 

5. Working quickly, spoon mixture into 10 equal portions onto prepared sheet pan. 

6. Cool for several hours until caramel sets.

7. Store on silicone or wax paper, in a single layer, in an airtight container.

(affiliate links)

Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog Bitchin Kitchin by Ellie in NJ.  Ellie is a true foodie and her wonderful blog is full of savory and sweet selections, complete with lots of great photos that walk you through her recipes.  If you get a chance, you must check out her cupcakes (so many tempting flavor combinations). It's been a very hectic month in the ButterYum household, so I chose a simple recipe to share with you today - Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies.  And yes, Giant is an accurate description as each cookie measure about 4-inches in diameter.  These cookies are a bit unusual - the recipe calls for only 1/2 cup flour, but an entire pound of chocolate, 4 large eggs, and 1 3/4 cup brown sugar.  They bake up big and heavy, but with a meringue-like quality to them - crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

My Notes:  The cookie batter is a snap to make, but it has to chill for 45 minutes before baking.  I used a #20 cookie scoop to portion out the dough, which yielded exactly 24 large cookies,  I baked only 6 cookies per sheet pan, chilling the dough between batches.  Much like dipping ice cream, rinsing the scoop with hot water every couple of dips allowed the hard, cold dough to release from the scoop easily.  Plan to use several sheet pans as the cookies need to cool completely before being moved.  Also, I see no reason why you couldn't make them smaller if you wanted to - simply adjust the baking time. These fantastic cookie are even better a day or two after they're baked.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• #20 scoop https://amzn.to/2yGI2OE

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/2SYvUPD

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3bt3aFf

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Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies

makes 24 cookies (using #20 scoop)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 16 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 7 ounces chocolate covered toffee bits or a whole bar, chopped (Skor, Heath, etc)

• optional 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (black walnuts would work particularly well here)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

2. In a double boiler over medium heat, slowly melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth; set aside and cool until lukewarm.

3. Beat sugar and eggs together for about 5 minutes until thick (I used my stand mixer with the whisk attachment).

4. Slowly add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract.

5. Next add the flour mixture, followed by the chopped toffee candy and nuts.

6. Cover bowl with plastic and chill for 45 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350F.

8. Use a #20 scoop to portion cookie dough, 2 1/2-inches apart onto half sheet pans lined with parchment or silicone (6 cookies per sheet pan).

9. Bake for 15 minutes; cool completely before removing.

10. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.