New Orleans pralines are a classic southern-style candy that couldn’t be easier to make right in your own kitchen. It’s storied history dates back to the French colonial history of the American South, where, over time, local ingredients (like sugar) and creative modifications (adding cream) have given us the candy as we know it today. It’s one of those must-haves if you ever get the chance to visit the city of New Orleans, just to get a sense of how good these candies are. But, since we can’t make it down to the Big Easy today, we’ll settle for whipping up a batch right at home.

A watchful eye and a lot of stirring will be essential to making a batch of this sweet and salty candy. First, you’ll want to toast up those pralines because toasting them enhances their nutty flavor. Then we melt up some sugar and evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is not only creamy but it is also syrupy and sweet, which is just the texture we want for making this treat.

It’s entirely up to you what kind of flavor you add, we like to use a little maple extract as well as bourbon flavor, which can come as a flavored extract, or as the real thing. Once these have all had some time over the heat to melt together and get nice and sticky sweet, it’s time to scoop out balls of this sugary mixture. A suggestion: lightly spray your spoon with cooking spray to prevent the candy from sticking to the spoon. Drop a scoop of candy onto wax paper, leaving room for the candy to spread. Once cooled, they’re ready to be served!

Any extra can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped up in some decorative cellophane to share with family and friends. We can’t get down to NOLA for a batch of this amazingly sweet and savory nutty candy, but we can recreate the experience right in our own kitchen. It’s one of those treats that is likely to disappear quickly because they’re so incredibly delicious!