Dad's Pralines

Adapted from Sugar Baby

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup half and half

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup pecan halves (toasted, if you'd like)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (bourbon, if you have it)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, combine the sugars, half and half, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has melted. 

Raise the heat to medium, stop stirring, clip on a candy thermometer, and cook to just two or three degrees shy of 235°F (the mixture will continue to heat slightly when off the heat, and you don't want to overcook it). 

Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, pecans, and vanilla extract. Use a wooden spoon to stir gently to combine the ingredients and melt the butter, then stir like crazy until the mixture just thickens and starts to lose its shine. (Stirring too much will make them too dry and crumbly.) 

Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet a little at a time, making pralines the size that you want. They should only spread slightly if they've been stirred enough. Cool until set, a few hours. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.