Christmas Candy

For any holiday there was always a kitchen full of women when I was growing up. My mom, aunt, and granny (great-grandmother) were always busy days before just preparing for the day of's feast. We were in and out as kids, but had better things to do then help cook but the older we all got the more we moved into the kitchen too. Mama and Granny started passing the traditions down to us and taught us the secrets to making Christmas dishes taste the way we knew they should, the way they always made them. One of the first things I remember Granny teaching me to make was Pecan Pralines. She had an old ragged piece of paper with the recipe on it, she never needed it, she knew it by heart. She always helped me measure the ingredients and I would stand by the stove and stir. While I stirred away and the pralines cooked low and slow, she would prepare the parchment paper, and get me a little bowl with water for the ball test, and chop the pecans. The pralines almost never flopped when she was helping me. She taught me how to test the candy for the perfect soft ball to see if they were ready. One thing I will never forget is she would say, that whoever started the batch had to finish them, because if someone else stepped in and stirred different than the starter the batch would flop. All of these things I cherish and will remember so one day I can pass on the tradition. Granny passed away Christmas day 2005, I miss her just as much as I did that very day. I keep her memory with me all throughout the year, but when I make Pecan Pralines I can feel her watching me stir.