I like to tell myself that I don’t like sweets.  Most of the time, I even believe it when I say it.  Then I find myself walking through downtown Charleston, head down while elbowing through the hordes of tourists, and it stops me dead in my tracks.

That smell.
A smell so sweet, so rich, that the purveyors thought to put their kitchen in the front of the building, and let the rest of the store push beyond it into the back.  All day long, they cook huge copper vats full of sugary goodness in front of open doors, pushing invisible waves of olfactory bliss throughout the crowded streets, drawing customers in to taste their treats: Pecan Pralines. I tell you, if you have not had a pecan praline before, you have not lived.  I tell myself I don’t like sweets, and maybe that’s true.  Maybe pralines are so good that even I, the self-proclaimed non-lover of sweets, must still love them.  Full of nutty pecans smothered in a butter and sugar bath, pralines are ready to be consumed when they have cooled to room temperature, and can be broken into pieces with a quick snap.  Bite into one with a crunch, but that crunch will immediately be followed by the candy around the pecan melting back into a sugary, caramel-y sauce in your mouth.

I used to think that the only way to have these little treats was to brave the crowds downtown and sneak into the touristy candy shop where they are made and sold, but recently I put some time into figuring out what I am sure is their recipe in my own kitchen.  You will need a candy thermometer to get that perfect snappy-melty texture, but they can be had for well under $10 anywhere cooking supplies are sold ( even the grocery store! ).

 

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