New Orleans bacon pralines are a sweet and salty candy made with lightly sweetened bacon and caramelized sugar pecans.
Confession: Until seeing New Orleans bacon pralines on an episode of 5 Ingredient Fix, I didn’t know what they were. The word ‘praline’ is used in the same context as ‘pecan’, so I figured praline is just a southern word for pecan. Laugh all you want, but really – pecan pie, praline pie? They are the same thing!
Someone actually requested that I make pralines for them. Fortunately, my ears perked up when I heard the word ‘praline’ in the background on TV at work, and I was able to google the recipe. Of course, now I know that pralines are candied nuts of deliciousness (yeah, I went there).
So on to the New Orleans bacon pralines recipe!
New Orleans Bacon Pralines
from 5 Ingredient Fix
Ingredients:
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 1/4 cups pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 1 rimmed sheet pan with heavy foil and another with parchment paper.Place a baking rack over the foil-lined sheet pan and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other, but not overlapping. Bake until crispy, 15 to 18 minutes. When cool enough to handle, finely chop and set aside. Reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees F.
In a small saucepan over moderate heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar, about 1 minute. Add the pecans and combine until the pecans are coated. Pour out onto another unlined sheet pan and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Place the remaining 2 cups brown sugar into a 3-quart heavy saucepan, being careful to not get sugar on the sides of the pan. Add the cream, the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and cook over very low heat (do not let simmer), stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, until the sugar is dissolved, 10 to 15 minutes. Wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Clamp on a candy thermometer to the saucepan and boil the syrup over moderately-high heat until it registers 236 degrees F.
Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the thermometer in place, and let cool until the syrup registers 220 degrees F, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the bacon and pecans. Working quickly, drop 1 tablespoon of pralines onto the prepared parchment-lined sheet pan. If the mixture starts to harden, place back on the stove over moderately-low heat and let it melt. Let the pralines sit until they harden, about 45 minutes.
(My plan was that they had bacon in them, so at least if they were all wrong that would make things right, right?)
kitchenarian says
I have such a weakness for sweet & salty – this sounds divine. It has been years since I have made pralines. Thanks for reminding me of how wonderful they are.
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I love the way pralines look… and the sweet plus salty smokiness of bacon sounds pretty amazing!
Tanya C. says
I love sweet an salty, and I never knew what made a praline a praline!
Jazz Rules says
Adorable pralines! I add bacon to everything and it always makes it better!
Fresh and Foodie says
Yummy! I don’t really like Food Network, but that 5 Ingredient Fix show is pretty good — I like the concept. These look delicious!
Liz says
How beautiful, Kita! Off to check your guest post 🙂
Belinda @zomppa says
Ooo – I’d like THAT goodie!
Pam @ Sticks Forks Fingers says
Just when I think I’m soooo over the whole bacon-in-everything thing, something like this comes around and makes me fall of the wagon. This is genious. I could die face-first in a vat of pralines, and with the addition of bacon…OMG!
Your stripey little boxes are adorable, too.
Thanks for sharing. My best, Pam
Magic of Spice says
Pralines are an all time favorite of mine…the addition of bacon here would have my kids going wild for these beauties 🙂
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
Yum and double yum. That’s all.
Erin says
What a great combo of sweet and salty! Looks delicious!
An Alaskan Cooks | Alaska Food and Wine says
You had me at “bacon.” I’ve never made pralines before, but I’ve already saved this one for future reference. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Also, you get a pat on the back for not claiming the recipe was an original. Your honesty is appreciated. I’m tired of seeing FoodBuzz “recipes” that really aren’t recipes, and I’m also tired of reading recipe blog posts that simply repost from other sites without attribution.
Carolyn says
I saw someone else do this and thought it was so great… this is definitely on my to-try list!
briarrose says
Bacon makes these perfect. Lovely job.
Kate@Diethood.com says
Oh yummmmmmm!!! I could eat up all of those!
pecan = praline … I admit, I chuckled a bit. 😉
Cassie @ Bake Your Day says
I LOVE 5 Ingredient Fix, her recipes are so fun! These sound so fun…I’m usually not one to mix sweet and salty but I can imagine that this is an awesome combination!
The Harried Cook says
Sounds incredible! I just posted about my Bacon Brownies last week and was trying to think of more bacon sweet things I could make, and this sounds just right! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Priscilla - She's Cookin' says
I did an interview with Claire of 5 Ingredient Fix last year. Her recipes are dynamite cuz how can you go wrong with cream, bacon, and sugar 🙂 as in these gorgeous pralines! I rest my case…
Aarthi says
This looks yummy….you have a lovely blog…I am having a giveaway in my blog..Y dont you check and join that
https://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/2011/05/chocolate-recipe-and-chocolate.html