Don't let making pralines intimidate you - they are actually really easy to make. You will be surprised how easy these Chocolate Pecan Pralines are. For a taste this incredible it seems like they should be much more labor intensive.
My love of pecan pralines began when my husband and I visited New Orleans for our 1st anniversary back in 2004. I brought back a big box of Aunt Sally's pralines in both original and chocolate because I couldn't decide which was my favorite.
I made a regular pecan praline recipe and a pecan praline brownie a few months ago but I still needed a chocolate pecan praline candy. Last weekend I wanted to make a dessert for a party but it was way too hot to bake. Finally making that chocolate pecan praline recipe was the perfect solution.
Ingredients for Chocolate Pecan Pralines
- toasted pecans
- butter
- heavy cream
- sweetener
- vanilla
- salt
- unsweetened chocolate
Tips for Chocolate Pralines
A few of my readers said the mixture separated after adding the chocolate so I played around with it a bit.
There are two things that can cause this to separate. If the caramel is too hot or if you over mix. I tweaked the instructions and added cooling time before stirring in the chocolate. Make sure to only stir until the chocolate is melted and then gently stir in the pecans.
It does thicken as it cools so if it is too this to drop by spoonfuls right away just cool it to room temp first.
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans toasted (I toast nuts at 400 degrees until they are lightly browned and smell fragrant)
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoon heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
- 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
Instructions
- Combine 4 tablespoon of the butter, sweetener, and cream over medium heat. Stir until sweetener is dissolved. Add vanilla. Cook until it is a deep golden brown. I cook this for about 10 minutes. Stay in the kitchen with it and stir frequently. It will start to smell like caramel. At that point stir constantly. As soon as it reaches that deep color (right before burning) remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining butter and salt. Stir until smooth.
- Cool for five minutes. Add chocolate and stir until it melts. Add toasted pecans. Drop by spoonfuls onto on wax paper. Refrigerate until firm.
Notes
Nutrition
More Delicious Sweet Recipes:
Sharon says
Oh man! I could just live off of these! So freaking good!
Phyllis Hunt says
Would real sugar work as well?
Taryn says
I would just look for a praline recipe that calls for real sugar.
Evelyn Thomas says
Hi, thank you for the wonderful recipe... sounds yummy... one question is this an e or s or? Please... thank you...
Taryn says
S
Kathy says
I have made this recipe four times and for the life of me, it is a failure.following the recipe exactly, the butter separates when I add the chocolate and it is a greasy mess.very dissapointed.😕
Taryn says
Next time please contact me after the first time. I'm happy to help you troubleshoot.
Jen says
Can I use cocoa powder instead?
Taryn says
I think so. I would whisk in 2 tbsp right before you add the pecans. LMK how they turn out 🙂
Debra Castro says
Hi Joy, Do you have a cook book that can be purchased?
Taryn says
Not yet. I'm planning a dessert ebook for 2017 though 🙂 -Taryn
Taryn says
Ok, I figured it out. There are two things that can cause this to separate. If the caramel is too hot or if you over mix. I tweaked the instructions and added cooling time before stirring in the chocolate. Make sure to only stir until the chocolate is melted and then gently stir in the pecans.
It does thicken as it cools so if it is too thin to drop by spoonfuls right away just cool it to room temp first.
Diane says
I had the same problem with it turning to liquid again when I added the chocolate. Disappointed! It smelled so good! Not sure what happened!
Taryn says
I'm going to make a batch or two tomorrow to try to figure it out. I wonder if the brand of chocolate is making a difference.
Liz says
I had a similar problem. It was carameling up nicely and I took it off the heat and added the chocolate and it separated into a liquidy mess. I'll try again as it smelled and looked SO good before the addition of the chocolate. Any tips? I followed the recipe exactly.
Taryn says
I'm not sure why the chocolate would cause it to separate. If it was too liquidy after the chocolate it might have needed to be cooked longer before you added the chocolate. Did you try pouring it into a tray and refrigerating it? It should still firm up and be yummy.
Liz says
I'll have to try it again. It definitely separated back into oil and bits of chocolate. I'll try cooking for longer first next time, though it certainly looked nice and thick like a good caramel before I added the choc so I'm really not sure what went wrong. I ended up saving the nuts and chocolate part and made a batch of your regular pecan praline and added the nuts+chocolate I had saved into that...turned out delicious!! Can't stop eating it....
Lara Hough says
I just made the chocolate pecan pralines. Was my mixture of the cream, butter, and sugar supposed to thicken up to a caramel consistency or just SMELL like caramel like the recipe says? Mine did not thicken up at all, so I had to pour it in a shallow pan. There was no way I could have dropped by the spoonful, way too liquidy. Can't wait to try them though, I'll just break them apart this time. Thanks for your help.
Taryn says
Yes, it's supposed to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.