Today, Mom gets all of our attention. I'm so grateful that she and Dad are still both in good health. She is celebrating another milestone birthday - 75! She is now 3/4 of the way to achieving one of the things on her bucket list: having her cute little picture in the middle of the Smuckers jelly jar on the Today Show with Willard Scott sending her well wishes. Come to think of it, that's on my bucket list, too! :D
One of Mom's favorite candies is Mexican pralines. I remember each time we visited San Antonio, she would always bring home several cases. This year, I tried making them myself for the first time. Not only would they be one of her birthday presents, but they would also serve as party favors for a Cinco de Mayo bridal shower I'm hosting tomorrow. (When you're celebrating three major events in three days, you have to be efficient!)
I was a little hesitant to make these at first. So many recipes I found on the internet warned of precise cooking times and temperatures. So for the first batch, I actually dug out my candy thermometer. I was ready! Then, I combined 3 cups sugar, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 stick butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a large pan on the stove top. (No wonder they're so good!)
Cooking on medium heat, I watched it closely until the thermometer read 235 degrees, the soft boil stage. Yeah right. So much for precise and accurate measurement systems. After adding 2 cups of pecan pieces and 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla, the candy hardened before I could even scoop it out onto the waxed paper! Hoping that I didn't have to completely waste this batch, I simply added more buttermilk to the concoction. Perfect!
For the second batch, I was thinking that a candy thermometer was unneeded. . . especially one that obviously wasn't effective anyway. This time, my test for the soft boil stage was to drop a small amount into cold water until it formed a small ball. You guess it. Too runny. Classic case of over-control.
The ones I scooped out at the very end hardened nicely; however, the first ones seemed too runny. I'm glad I didn't throw them out at that point. After getting distracted for a few hours, I returned to see that they all ended up at the perfect consistency after all. Wooo hooo! So lesson learned: these things are pretty forgiving. I will no longer be afraid to make them!
For tomorrow's party favors, I wrapped each praline in Saran Wrap. Then I placed each of them in a vellum envelope I made:
Gracias is about the only Spanish word I know. That's OK, though. I'm reminded of Meister Eckhar's words: "If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough." So in the spirit of Mom's 75th birthday on this wonderful Cinco de Mayo weekend,
Gracias, Mom!
Actually, muchas gracias for everything you have always done for us. You deserve the best on your special day! Feliz Cumpleanos! (OK, I admit I had to look that one up on my iTranslate app!) :D
Mexican Pralines
Ingredients:
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups broken pecan pieces
- 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla
Directions:
Mix first five ingredients together in a large pan. Cook on medium heat to a soft boil stage, 235 degrees. Check by dropping a small amount of the praline mixture into cold water. It should form a small ball.
Remove from heat and add pecans and vanilla. Beat with a wire whip until it loses its glaze.
Turn out onto wax paper and allow to cool.
Makes approximately 2 dozen.
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