Bourbon Pralines Recipe

Our friend Charlie brought a plate of pralines to a Mardi Gras party awhile back. When he headed out the door, people asked in dismay, “Oh no! Did the praline guy take his pralines with him?”

Months later, friends were still talking about those pralines of Charlie’s so I begged bugged him for the recipe. He’s usually most forthcoming but this time, not!

Desperate people resort to desperate measures.

So I imported a secret weapon from Canada, my cousin Lynda who came down from Toronto when we put on a big party in the country in November. Charlie and his wife Jan brought along another plate of pralines. When I saw it on the buffet table, I clutched it to my chest (not literally, go with the story here …) and enlisted Lynda to pry the promise of a recipe from Charlie. She was successful. Persuasive, those Canadians.

Turns out, Charlie’s Pralines have good provenance! His sister gave him her recipe but she got it from what’s perhaps the most famous praline recipe there is, the one from the New Orleans School of Cooking. I couldn’t wait to make them!

So when we put together a small holiday dessert tasting this month (anyone noticing a party theme here?), I pulled out the butter and sugar and made my first-ever batch of pralines.

But oops, I accidentally skipped the cooling step and spooned the mixture into rounds onto a silicone mat without waiting for the mixture to cloud up a little. Because of that, I did sweat it there for awhile, because it took about 12 hours for my pralines to firm up properly. Oh me of little faith, after only an hour I balled up about a dozen pralines I was sure would never firm up. All I needed was patience they would have, in fact, they did.

But happy accident? I ground up those few pralines and they are the basis for the one dessert that stole the show at that December dessert party. I’ll share that recipe before New Years! It’s a show-stopper but get this, adds up to only 154 calories and 4 Weight Watchers points!

So yes, I know, the recipe originated with the New Orleans School of Cooking but in my mind, I'll always think of these pralines as “Charlie’s Pralines”.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!