Steen's & Tabasco Spiced Pecans

Hey y'all!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  I hope you're having a wonderfully relaxing day full of mulled wine, cider, and hot cocoa (while your kids play quietly/destroy your in-laws house).  I wanted to share a little Christmas snack with you (that pairs well with beverages of all types).

This idea came to me while I was having a beer at Lost Forty Brewing down in Little Rock, Arkansas.  They have these AMAZING molasses & black pepper glazed pecans that I have to get every time I'm down there.  

I like to make glazed pecans around the holidays (because they're delicious and make your whole house smell like a spice factory). I've shared a few different recipes for spiced pecans with you before--some in the oven, and some made using the microwave.

But this time I decided to "Cajun" the recipe up a bit...by using Steen's Cane Syrup instead of molasses.  Steen's has been around since the early 1900's, based out of Abbeville, LA (just south of Lafayette).  Sugar cane is big business in that part of the state: about $2 Billion worth of business, covering about 400,000 acres of farmland across 22 parishes, and providing jobs to about 17,000 Louisianians.  

I see Steen's used much like some folks would maple syrup or honey--drizzled over pancakes, served with biscuits, mixed in with glazes for BBQ...there's tons of recipe ideas on their website.

Also, because I like my spiced pecans to be sweet, smoky, salty, and spicy, I wanted to add in some Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce.  If you haven't tried this yet...MAN.  You are missing out. It is the #1 used condiment in our house, and goes great with nearly everything.  Scrambled eggs, chili, grilled meat, pepper jelly, queso sauce... I even added some to a beef stroganoff the other night. It's a really well rounded, balanced flavor profile with just enough heat.

This is a super-easy, quick recipe. Takes about 10 minutes of actual labor to make, then you just let them cool and package them up!  I made several batches this Christmas to share with coworkers.

INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp Steen's cane syrup
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups pecans (about one 12 oz bag)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350*F.
In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the pecans and stir over high heat, until it comes to a boil.  Then add your pecans and stir continuously for about 3 minutes--the syrup will start to thicken (but don't let the syrup  burn).

Then transfer the pecans to a parchment-lined baking sheet pan, and separate as much as possible using a spatula.

Bake for about 7 minutes, then remove from the oven, separate pecans more if needed (otherwise they'll cluster together when cooled), and let cool completely.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. If you try them, please let me know what you think!

Dickey's Pralines

So earlier in the week I shared the first half of my candy-making adventure with my friend Amy. Now it's time for the rest: PRALINES!

I've made pralines before, from my friend Nana D's recipe. So this time, Amy brought her brother-in-law Dickey's recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
16 large marshmallows
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
These are another candy that can be a bit finicky about weather, but not as much as divinity.  Even so, best to make this on a low humidity day.

Put all the ingredients in a pot, except the vanilla.  Cook over medium heat until the marshmallows melt.  Stir constantly, until at soft ball stage (about 240-250*F).  

Remove from the stove, add vanilla, and beat until thick.  Then spoon onto parchment paper and let rest until cooled completely.

So--in the interest of candor:  Our first batch didn't set up properly.  We only brought them up to about 236*F, forgot to add the vanilla, and then didn't really do the whole "beat until thick".  As such, the batch we made at my house stayed soft, like a caramel.  Still super delicious, but a little limp and sticky*.  They did finally start to properly harden the next day.*

* "That's what she said."

As I mentioned in the last post, I decided to dip some of them in chocolate.  I figured if they didn't harden up, at least the chocolate would add some structural integrity.

Amy decided not to accept defeat, and made a second batch at her house the next day.  We met up during the work week and swapped candies: I gave her half of the divinity (and some of the chocolate dipped pralines) and she shared some of her properly set pralines.  And I gotta say--while the first batch were really tasty, the second batch with the vanilla---man.  It's crazy to think how much just a tiny bit of vanilla rounds out a flavor profile.

Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Divinity

When I was a kid, my family used to have candy making days around the holidays. We'd go over to my Grandma's house, or an aunt's house, divvy up the roles and duties, and make big batches of fudge, divinity, sugar cookies, rice crispy treats...all the yummy sugary things. And then everyone would split them and take them home.  Well, after all the fun I had with my friend Amy and our gumbo-making adventure, we decided that WE would have a candy-making day!

We decided on divinity, and pralines.  Today's post will talk about the divinity, and the praline post will go up later this week! (edited: It's up now, here's a link!)

Now, I have my Grandmother's recipe for divinity, but Amy was wanting to try a recipe from Sucre in New Orleans that looked super-yummy.  (For those who want it, I've shared my grandmother's recipe at the bottom of this post.)  The main difference between the recipe we tested is...Jello. My grandma always made "Jello divinity".  Called such because... you guessed it... it has Jello in the recipe.  Since divinity base is just vanilla flavored, using Jello is an easy way to add flavor--my Grandma always used cherry Jello.  Divinity is one of those finicky candies that really needs to be made on a day with very low humidity (preferably <50%).  Adding gelatin helps ensure that the candy sets up properly, and helps it to dry faster.  

To be honest, I'd never had NON-cherry flavored divinity. So I was interested in testing out Amy's recipe.  And we were completely delighted with the results.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 egg whites, room temp (tip:  I made scrambled eggs for breakfast that morning, so I used the 3 egg yolks in that--no waste!)
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin (we added this to the original recipe, to expedite drying)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup candy cane bits (I used crushed Starbrite mints)
16 oz bag dark chocolate (63% or higher) for melting 
Optional toppings: pecan halves, crushed peppermints
also need - parchment paper

DIRECTIONS:
First, I cannot reiterate this enough--you need a LOW HUMIDITY DAY. Below 50% is ideal.  My weather app said we had 60% on the day we did this and that worked out okay.  But part of the divinity process is letting it dry out--and if the air is too humid, that won't happen, and you'll have a sticky mess on your hands.

In a large non-reactive pot (stainless steel, glass, enamel, ceramic), combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Then heat to 250*F.  Don't stir until 2/3 of the mixture has melted and become transparent.  Once you hit this point, you can put your egg whites in a stand mixture and beat them until stiff peaks form.  (Timing can be tricky, so it helps to have a second person to manage this.)  Use a candy thermometer to keep constant watch on your sugar/mix temp (or a probe-type thermometer affixed so it's not touching the bottom or sides of the pan).

Once you're at 250*F, add the gelatin to the egg whites, and then slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites while beating at a low speed (another reason a stand mixer is a must for this).  The syrup will "cook" the egg whites in the process.  Keep the syrup in the center of the bowl--if you get syrup on the bowl it will form crystals instead of combining with the divinity.  Increase the mixer speed to high once all the syrup has been added.and continue to whip until the mixture cools and looks slightly glossy.  

Then fold in the vanilla and the candy cane bits, and then you can either put it into a piping bag (FYI, this stuff is SUPER STICKY, like making marshmallows), or just drop it by spoonfuls onto the parchment paper.  If you're feeling fancy, drop some extra bits of candy cane onto the top, or top with some pecan halves.

Now...chill out.  Or go make pralines.  Because it's gonna be about 3 hours before these guys are dry enough to do anything with.

BUT...once they're dry, you can get ready to dip them!  Put the chocolate bits into a microwave safe bowl, nuke for 1 minute, stir, and then nuke for another 30 seconds or so, and stir again.  Use a small spatula (or your fingers) to dip the bottoms of the divinity one at a time into the chocolate, and then use the spatula to lift them out and place back on the parchment paper.  

Let set until chocolate is fully hardened. (They'll cool faster if it's cool in your kitchen. We generally keep our house around 68*F in the winter, but on this particular day, we did a self-cleaning cycle on our oven, so the kitchen was at about 74 degrees...I had to open a window to get the temperature to drop so that the chocolate would finally harden.)

We had some extra chocolate left over at the end, so we also tried dipping a few of the pralines, and made some pecan clusters.

Once fully dry, store in an airtight container.  This recipe made a BUNCH, so I divvied most of them up as gifts for my coworkers.

~~~

Grandma's Divinity

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup karo syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg whites, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 small package of Cherry Jello

1. In 2-quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Without stirring, cook over low heat (small to medium bubbles breaking across surface of liquid) until temperature on candy thermometer reaches 260°F or small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball which doesn’t flatten until pressed, about 40 minutes.
2. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beating at high speed, gradually add hot syrup in a thin, steady stream. DO NOT SCRAPE SIDE OF SAUCEPAN. Continue beating at high speed until mixture begins to lose its gloss, about 3 minutes.
3. Reduce speed to low. Beat in vanilla. Continue beating at low speed until mixture holds a peak and does not spread when dropped from a spoon, about 8 minutes. (If mixture becomes too stiff for mixer, beat with wooden spoon.) Immediately stir in nuts.
4. Working quickly, drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper* Let stand until set. Store in tightly-covered container.

Christmas Candy: Peanut Clusters & Peppermint Bark!

Happy holidays, friends!  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Feliz Navidad, and all that jazz.  This is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.  Hot cocoa, candy canes, some fluffy white stuff outside, evergreens covered with twinkle lights inside, Christmas movies on every channel, and neighbors who say “electric bill be d@mned” and cover their houses with LED bulbs synchronized to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  It’s MAGICAL, I tell ya!

It’s also crazy hectic.  How many Christmas parties did you attend this year?  No less than four here, with even more invites that we just couldn’t make it to.  And you’re usually expected to bring some sort of tasty treat for the hosts/other guests, right?  Which of course, you have TONS of extra time to make, right?

Well, before you break down & bring sugar cookies* from the supermarket, I’d like to suggest a couple quick & easy alternatives.

(PS—we do not condone store-bought sugar cookies.  Try this family recipe here, instead.)

These treats arose because, with The Scoop closed for the season, we happen to have about 6 packages of almond bark & melting chocolate, which we use during the season to make our specialty cones:

 

(Yes, that’s bacon.  Don’t judge.)

We also had a large can of peanuts leftover… Peanuts…chocolate?  You see where I’m going.  Right?  …no?  Okay, I’ll show you.

Yes, PEANUT CLUSTERS!  Seriously, these could not be easier.

Ingredients: (Makes about 15 clusters)

3 squares melting chocolate

1 dash vanilla extract

Peanuts (about 1 1/2 cups)

 

Directions:

First, place a metal cookie sheet in the freezer or fridge.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 60-90 seconds in the microwave.  Stir with a spatula & add in the vanilla, then add the peanuts, and toss until well coated.  Add peanuts about 1/2 cup at a time, till you have a good chocolate : peanut ratio (if you add too many peanuts, the clusters won’t stick well to each other & the peanuts might not get completely covered.

Pull the cookie sheet out of the fridge & cover it with wax paper; then drop the peanut mixture onto the wax paper in spoonfuls.  When you’ve used up all of your mix, place the cookie sheet back in the fridge until set. (It shouldn’t take more than about 15 minutes.)

As a fun variation of this (if you have some extra time), you can mix some peanut butter & peanuts together, drop spoonfuls of that mix onto a waxed cookie sheet & freeze for about 30 minutes, then coat those in the melting chocolate.  It’s like a Reese’s PB cup!

 

Not much for peanuts?  How about peppermint?

Ingredients: (makes approximately 8x12 sheet of bark)

3 squares white almond bark

3 squares melting chocolate

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

2 candy canes, crushed (a plastic baggie + meat mallet work well)

 

Directions:

Cookie sheet => fridge or freezer, then cover with wax paper

Melt white chocolate first (60-90 secs in the microwave) and add 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract.  When that’s well combined, pour the white chocolate onto your wax papered cookie sheet and spread out as evenly as possible.  Place in fridge to harden.

Now melt your milk chocolate in the microwave, and add the peppermint extract to it.  Mix well, and then pour on top of the white chocolate.

Spread evenly over the top, and then immediately sprinkle your peppermint crumbles over the top.  Press into the chocolate if necessary so they stick well.

Place back in the fridge for about 15 minutes, and then break apart into pieces.  It doesn’t have to be pretty—think Peanut Brittle.  You can cover the top of the bark with another sheet of wax paper if you don’t want to put your hands all over food that may eventually go in someone else’s mouth.

 

 

Tuesday Timbits: Pecans, and a Praline Recipe!

Okay, so obviously pecans aren't exclusive to Louisiana--I mean, my husband's mom has one in her back yard. But pecans ARE integral to the state... from the Louisiana Pecan Festival in Colfax each year, to Pecan Island in Vermilion Parish, to the plethora of pecan farmers across the state, you almost can't go to Louisiana without being served something with pecans on it.

NERDY BIT: (I'm a scientist, so bear with me) Pecans are the drupe or "fruit" of the Carya illinoinensis tree, a member of the hickory genus and the Juglandaceae (walnut) family. They're native to south-central North America, as they thrive in areas with long, hot summers, and relatively moderate winters. The US produces approximately 80-95% of the world's commercial supply of pecans. A pecan tree can live & bear edible fruit for more than 300 years.



One of the most well-known Louisiana uses for pecans would be pralines (PRAH-leens), and one of the most famous New Orleanian praline maker is Aunt Sally's, which are available in a variety of fantastic flavors:



However, if you can't get to Louisiana to pick up a praline...you can always make them yourself!

While living in Louisiana, I was taught how to make pralines from scratch by a friend's mom, a wonderfully sweet Cajun lady who I've referred to here previously as Nana D. Nana D shared with me her recipe, which comes from this cookbook:

That she's had since she was 20-something. Well...she has the original--she made me this copy, since her book is rather old & quite delicate. I did a little research, and this cookbook was put out in 1975 by the Louisiana Power & Light Company.

Note: This recipe has not been modified from the original, as it's tough to "health-up" candy without screwing with the chemistry of it.

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light cream
2 tbsp butter
1 cup Louisiana pecan halves

Directions:
Dissolve sugars in cream and boil to the "thread test" (or 228 degrees Fahrenheit, if you have a candy thermometer), stirring occasionally. Add butter & pecans: cook until syrup reachs soft-ball test (236 F). Cool, and beat until somewhat thickened but not until it loses its gloss, and drop by tablespoonful onto a greased marble slab or double thickness of waxed paper. You need to do this rather quickly, otherwise the "dough" will start to harden. The candy will flatten out into large cakes. Makes about 12 pralines.



Nutrition Facts:
Calories 232.2
Total Fat 10.3 g
Saturated Fat 3.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g
Cholesterol 11.7 mg
Sodium 25.0 mg
Potassium 113.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 42.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 41.5 g
Protein 1.1 g