|
Directions:
Pick a big saucepan. (The buttermilk and baking soda will foam with an exuberance that can shortly have you cleaning the whole stove.) In it, put everything except the butter and nuts, and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep right on stirring till the candy thermometer says 210 degrees F. (And don't be afraid you'll end up with white pralines. Somehow it all turns a beautiful dark gold.) Now add the butter and nuts, lower the heat a little, and keep cooking till the thermometer says 230 degrees F. If you haven't a thermometer, test it: the syrup should form at least a 2-inch thread without breaking, when you tilt the spoon.
Take it off the heat, add the vanilla, and let it sit till it quiets down. Beat it till it loses its gloss, and drop it by spoonfuls on waxed paper. When they've cooled, wrap them individually in waxed paper squares and hide them in an unpleasant-looking used can in the back of the refrigerator.
|
