Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (78 page)

History:

Sugar-coated nuts have been eaten at celebrations since the Middle Ages. Today, dragées are also known as
panned candies
because most commercial dragées are made by placing the nuts in a large pan or other container and agitating it while the coating is poured in so that the nuts are evenly coated. The resulting candy has a perfectly round, smooth coating. Other panned candies include M&Ms, jellybeans, and the tiny metallic-colored sugar balls used to decorate cookies and cakes.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve dragées with cocktails or as an after-dinner sweet. For extra kick, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or cayenne pepper to the nuts when you toss them in caramel (step 4).

Candy-Making Notes:

Watch the cooking sugar to prevent scorching. Since it is not mixed with water, it will cook quickly.

Recipe:

1.
Line several baking sheets with foil or silicone baking mats.

2.
Place sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until it is melted.

3.
Continue cooking caramel without stirring until it turns deep golden.

4.
Add almonds, stirring until coated well.

5.
Use a spatula to spread the nuts on baking sheets, separating them from one another. Let cool.

6.
When the almonds are cool, place them in a bowl. Melt and
temper the chocolate
.

7.
Pour tempered chocolate over the nuts and stir to coat.

8.
When the chocolate has almost set on the nuts, add cocoa powder and stir to coat. It may be easiest to toss the nuts with your hands.

9.
Toss the nuts in a sieve or sifter if necessary to eliminate any clumps. Place nuts in a single layer on baking sheets to dry.

Yield:

4 cups of nuts

Storage:

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

General Description:

French pralines are the original finger food: whole almonds lightly coated with caramelized sugar
. Although almonds are the nuts traditionally used for pralines, hazelnuts are common as well. In Europe pralines are often ground into a powder called
pralin
or into a thicker praline paste, both of which are used to flavor desserts and chocolates. European chocolates filled with
pralin
or praline paste are often called
pralinés
; the ubiquity of the name is a tribute to the popularity of this flavor.
Southern pecan pralines
are made with pecans and brown sugar.

History:

Sugar-coated nuts have been enjoyed across Europe and the Middle East since the Middle Ages, but pralines were invented in France in the 17th century at the estate of the Duke of Plesiss-Praslin, a sugar industrialist. Legend has it that his cook came up with idea of coating almonds with caramelized sugar; the duke took the candy to the court of Louis XIII and promptly had it named after him. The cook later retired from the duke’s service and opened his own shop in Montargis, Maison de la Praline (“House of Praline”), which is still open today.