Cinco de Mayo has come and gone, but the Living Stones are prepared to celebrate a day late on our monthly excursion to the Well.  The Living Stones travel to Oak Cliff once a month to share a meal with our friends at the Well.  We have eagerly been preparing.  Excellent cook Nancy cooked twelve pounds of taco meat.  Mrs. Ralph has a humongous Tres Leche Cake.  Debbie bought the cutest pinatas for table decorations, and I am prepared to make a boat load of pico de gallo, mango salsa. and guacamole.

I have also prepared a surprise for tomorrow’s lunch.  Call it a “happy” or a “party favor”, and I am excited.

Have you had the Lammes Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines?  They are so good (understatement).  Many times they are the pralines that are by the cash register at the Mexican restaurants.  They are chewy, filled with nuts, and so rich and creamy.  They are even sold at the Texas Capitol Gift Shop in Austin.  For  many many years, I have wanted to try to make a version of these pralines.  “Why?,” you ask.   Many of you will not understand my answer, so I hate to even try to explain.  Oh, you will understand the fact the Lammes Pralines cost about $20.00 to $35.00 a pound (depending on how many pounds you buy), and I would like to save money.  But mainly I wanted to try to make them myself.  (Okay, I told you you would not understand, but that’s just the way I am.)  All these years, I wondered, “Could I make these?”  Now I know the answer.  “Yes, I can.”  Maybe they are not 100% the same, but I would be hard pressed to tell the difference.  They are delicious – not low calorie, inexpensive or quick to make, – but they are chewy, filled with Texas pecans, rich and creamy.  I am happy.  It was beyond fun to prepare these pralines for our friends at the Well.  It is perfectly okay if they do not want chewy pralines.  Really!  I have had my fun making them.

The ingredients are simple.  Sugar (brown and white), corn syrup, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and pecans.

I had misgivings when it was necessary to use almost two pounds of pecans.  If I failed, all my precious Texas pecans would be lost.  No guts – no glory, so I pressed on.

First you combine the sugars and the corn syrup.  A candy thermometer is necessary.  Need I say more?

Then you cook these sugars over medium-low heat for a long time until the candy thermometer reads 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  Stir often.

You take the pan off the heat and add the butter.  Stir until the butter is melted.  Then you slowly pour in the cream and mix well.

Return the pan to the heat and cook stirring constantly until the candy thermometer reads 242 degrees Fahrenheit.  Keep stirring.  This takes time.

Look at the golden brown of the caramel.  This is almost to the right temperature.

Remove from the heat.  Add vanilla extract and the precious pecans.  The house smells divine, and the pecans are happy.

Drop pralines onto a foil lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Sweet Mother of Pearl.  They are beautiful and delicious.

Then I wrapped the pralines in plastic wrap, and they are ready for our Mexican Fiesta.

Even though they are costly to make (I now understand why the Lammes Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines are so expensive.), they still cost considerably less than the Lammes version.  My recipe made almost 5 pounds of pralines.  5 pounds of Lammes Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines cost a penny less than $99.00.  My total cost was about $28.00.  My joy – priceless.

Blessings to you and yours,

Click HERE for the recipe, or you can click on the title of this post.

There are several recipes online for the chewy pralines, and they are all almost the same.  I basically used the recipe from Food.com by Chris70.

Un-eaten pralines can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer and brought out for special treats.