Pecan Penuche
By Yankee Magazine|Apr 21 2002|
Yield
3 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Instructions
In a 3-quart saucepan combine the sugars and milk, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking without stirring until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (236 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla, but do not stir. Let the mixture cool without stirring until it reaches 110 degrees F and the outside of the pan feels lukewarm, about 40 minutes. While the mixture is cooling, butter an 8-inch-square pan. With a wooden spoon beat the mixture until it becomes thick and begins to lose its gloss. Quickly stir in the pecans, and pour into the pan. (Don’t scrape the sides, since they may be sugary.) Cut with a sharp knife into 1-1/2-inch squares.
You’ll never match the flavor, texture, feel in another penuche recipe. I poured it up in a 9-inch heart-shaped pan for a Valentine’s present. Beats anything you’ll purchase. Fabulous!
These melt in your mouth! Of course, down here in Texas, we have another name for them–pralines.
I have a very similar recipe except it calls for 1 cup of marshmallows. If I use them, when would I put them into the mixture?
I did not know this was a CT and MA candy untii I read it here. We made penuche fudge when I lived in CT in the late fiftys. No wonder people in the mid west do not know what it is.