Chocolate pralines with pecans are a quick decadent sweet treat for chocolate lovers that you can make for a gift box or dessert in 30 minutes.
A dessert with melted chocolate that you can make from scratch in your kitchen in about 30 minutes without any special equipment, is it real? Absolutely. If you love chocolate candy, you should try these chocolatey pralines with pecans and vanilla.
Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
Texture: Chocolate pralines have a smooth, creamy, and slightly firm outer shell, with a rich, melt-in-your-mouth interior.
Taste: They are sweet and creamy, often complemented by the nutty undertones of pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts – depending on which one you choose.
Ease: These are moderately easy to make, requiring just a few ingredients and simple techniques. The process involves melting chocolate, combining it with nuts and other flavorings, and allowing it to set.
Why I love it: You love Chocolate Pralines because they offer the perfect combination of rich, creamy chocolate and crunchy nuts, creating an indulgent texture and flavor experience. The balance of sweetness, nuttiness, and smoothness makes them irresistibly satisfying.
They are buttery, not overly sweet, creamy, and melt in your mouth!
While many will think they were created by master chocolatiers with that rich cocoa flavor, these special treats are incredibly simple to make, even if you don’t have a lot of experience in the kitchen.
What Is Praline?
Pralines are sweet candies usually made with chocolate and nuts like pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds. They are said to come from Belgium.
Pralines come in many varieties: white, milk, dark chocolate, finely chopped nuts, nuts paste, or whole pecan halves coated with chocolate mix.
They are fudgy, creamy, and soft inside and have a crisp chocolate layer on the outside with decorations. Chocolate pralines are not truffles!
New Orleans pralines are a bit different, they don’t have the chocolate outer coating and the filling is simply pecans.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The preparation and cooking take barely 30 minutes and are absolutely foolproof. Pralines may sound fancy but it is a very straightforward recipe using pantry staples and pecans.
- The texture. Creamy yet with some crunch from pecans.
- Heavenly taste. It is not just plain chocolate. It has caramel notes from the brown sugar, smoky flavor from toasted nuts, and subtle vanilla flavoring. Plus, it is rich and buttery!
- Better than any store-bought or sold in restaurants. I recommend doubling the batch right away (the recipe makes 24 candies).
- Perfect to make ahead as you can store them for 2 weeks or freeze them for months.
- Classic New Orleans pralines – the best of the Southern candy recipes.
Ingredients Notes
- Pecan halves – classic ingredient of pralines. You can use whole halves or break them down more.
- For praline mixture: granulated sugar (adds sweetness), brown sugar (adds caramel-like flavor), heavy cream (for texture and thick consistency), and unsweetened cocoa powder (for raw natural chocolate taste).
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt to balance out and open up the sweetness. If you love a sweet and salty combination though you can sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of the pralines before they are set.
Kitchen Equipment
- Skillet
- Saucepan
- Candy thermometer
- A tablespoon or small cookie spoon
- Cookie sheets or baking sheets lined with wax paper or parchment paper. You can even line them with a silicone mat.
How To Make Chocolate Pralines
1: Toast The Nuts
Toast the pecans for 4-5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. They should be fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2: Prepare The Praline Mixture
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream, and cocoa powder in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 240ยฐF (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5-7 minutes – stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, toasted pecans, vanilla extract, and salt – ensuring everything is evenly coated. Do not mix longer than 2 minutes or you will lose the consistency.
3: Shape Chocolate Pralines
- Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet – spacing about a half-inch apart.
- Set aside to cool – to set the chocolate before enjoying it or transferring it to an airtight container for storage. It usually doesn’t take more than an hour, but you can also put it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks. However, if you live in a hot climate, I would store them in the fridge and take them out to soften before I want to eat them.
You can freeze chocolate pralines for 2 months.
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap cocoa powder with chocolate bars or chocolate chips. A combination of dark and milk chocolate is really nice.
- More flavors? Throw in some cinnamon or even orange extract, marzipan, coffee, creamy liquor (adults-only candy), or coffee powder.
- Instead of heavy cream, you can use evaporated milk.
- Decorate your pralines with some caramel or chocolate drizzle.
- For more texture, you can mix in some marshmallows, crushed sweet biscuits, or golden raisins.
Expert Tips To Make The Best Chocolate Pralines
- You can use molds to make heart-shaped pralines for Valentine’s or any other shapes for different holidays.
- Watch the saucepan closely to prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides.
- Work with a wooden spoon to stir praline.
- The praline mixture hardens quickly, so work fast. If it sets before you finish, just add some hot water to thin it and make it liquid again.
Popular Questions
What Makes A Chocolate A Praline?
Chocolate candy is praline when the filling is made with nuts and chocolate and is soft, while the coating is hard and made of milk, dark, or white chocolate. The top of the pralines is usually nicely decorated.
What Causes Pralines Not To Harden?
Overmixed and overcooked praline mixture won’t properly harden and can crumble or stay sticky. Undercooking the praline will also cause the candy not to set, which is why it does matter if you use or not a candy thermometer.
If you love thisย easy treat recipe, youโre going to love these other great recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Chocolate Pralines
Ingredients
- 1 ยฝ cups pecan halves
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ยฝ cup brown sugar
- ยฝ cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Toast the pecans for 4-5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. They should be fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream, and cocoa powder in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 240ยฐF (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5-7 minutes – stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, toasted pecans, vanilla extract, and salt – ensuring everything is evenly coated.
- Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet – spacing about a half-inch apart.
- Set aside to cool – to set the chocolate before enjoying or transferring to an airtight container for storage.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Created by Gina Kleinworth
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