Praline | Definition, Ingredients, Pecan, & Preparation (2024)

praline, in French confectionery, a cooked mixture of sugar, nuts, and vanilla, often ground to a paste for use as a pastry or candy filling, analogous to marzipan; also, a sugar-coated almond or other nutmeat. In the cookery of the American South, the term denotes a candy of sugared pecan meats or coconut.

Pecan pralines, usually made with brown sugar, have been produced for generations by the French-extracted Cajuns of Louisiana. The recipe for this variety calls for a mixture of sugar, light cream, and salt to be cooked to the so-called soft ball stage (i.e., to the point at which a bit of the mixture thus tested retains its shape upon being dropped into cold water), whereupon the brown sugar and nut meats are added.

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Praline paste is important in the commercial confectionery and bakery industries as a filling for chocolates, a flavouring for icings and creams, and an ingredient in various doughs. For this preparation, a mixture of sugar and almonds, or sometimes hazelnuts, is cooked and allowed to set. The cool solid is then broken into pieces and ground to an oily paste.