César, duc de Choiseul,
comte du Plessis-Praslin

The praline is originally a French confection, named after 17th century diplomat César, duc de Choiseul, comte du Plessis-Praslin. Some believe he had his personal chef, Clement Lassagne, create this almond candy to woo his various love interests. Others say Lassagne got the idea from children nibbling on almonds and caramel. Or perhaps, he got the idea from a clumsy young apprentice who knocked over a container of almonds into a vat of cooking caramel.

Whatever the story, the original praline was a sweet confection made of almonds and a creamy and sugary caramelized coating.

The French praline came to New Orleans in the late 1700s carried over by French settlers. With almonds being in short supply, cooks began substituting pecans and the praline as we know it evolved. It quickly spread throughout New Orleans, by way of street vendors (pralinieres as they were called) walking up and down the market streets with their baskets, singing songs about their homemade candy.

Modern day pecan pralines are not very different than the ones made over a hundred years ago. Since 1992, Southern Candymakers pralines are made simply of fresh milk, cream, butter, sugar, and jumbo pecans halves the traditional way. Each one scooped by hand to cool on a marble slab. We offer an array of flavors from coconut to sweet potato - the original flavor is just creamy and sweet, and the one you should try first.