This is the praline recipe I've used since childhood; it has vanilla in it, which I love, but which makes it tricky to handle, because the addition of the vanilla speeds up the setting process.
The key to pralines is a reliable thermometer, a heavy steel or iron pot (don't use non-stick; the boiling sugar is hard on nonstick surfaces), and careful attention to timing. Once you start cooking these, you are committed, so turn off your phone until you're done. Measure out all of your ingredients ahead of time and lay them out on your counter in order of use, because as soon as the sugar syrup hits the right temperature (you don't need to do the water test; just rely on your quality candy thermometer), you are working against the clock, and if you take too long, your praline syrup will harden in the pan before you get the candies poured. It's also important to clear a heat-resistant space for the pour and set out your wax paper before you start, because you won't have time later. Oh, and the best tool to use to stir the syrup and drop the candy is a well-seasoned wooden spoon.
½ cup butter
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
½ pound light brown sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 pound pecans
• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, heat butter until melted. Blend in both sugars. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves.
• Stir in cream until blended. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, stirring continuously. Reduce heat to medium high and stir continuously until mixture becomes foamy and frothy, darkens in color, and reaches soft-crack stage. To test for soft-crack stage, between 270 and 290 degrees on a candy thermometer, drop a small amount onto ice water: the drop should form hard but pliable threads.
• Remove from heat. QUICKLY stir in vanilla and pecans. Continue to stir for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to stiffen. Spoon individual circles of mixture onto waxed paper. Allow pralines to cool completely before removing from waxed paper.
The recipe says to stir the final stage for 5 minutes before beginning the pour, but in my experience that's too long; I'd say it's more like about 1-2 minutes; you just want to get the pecans coated and the vanilla incorporated before you start spooning out the candy.
PS: I can't swear to the chemistry of the thing, but this one does preserve the crunch of the pecans, presumably because they are not being boiled with the syrup. I've eaten some from recipes where the pecans are added sooner and cooked with the syrup; that seems to cause the pecans to become chewier.
PSS: If you're a bit slow and you end up with some crumbs that are too hard to pour, don't throw them away; scrape them out of the pan to save for ice cream topping.
