Pecans are really expensive this year, and you can make pralines using walnuts, but then I don't think they are really pralines. Still worth making, just call them something else.

Last night I tried this recipe for caramels with walnuts from Amish Country Cooking (Elkhart, IN), and I highly recommend it. They aren't as gummy as a lot of commercial caramels.

You can wrap them in little squares of waxed paper, but I like the idea of the little cups, and then stored in a plastic container. I cut them up small, just enough for two small bites. If you are into chocolate dipping, these would make excellent centers.

I have photos, but we're not able to upload pictures today.

Walnut Caramels

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 1/2 cups cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chopped nuts

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup cream. Cook until soft ball stage (about 240 degrees F). Add 1/2 cup more cream and cook again to soft ball stage. Add last 1/2 cup of cream. Cook until soft ball stage again. Remove from heat and add vanilla and nuts. Pour into a buttered pan. Cool and cut into squares.

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My mother made this brown candy. It's really pralines. We had a giant deep freezer on our back porch, more like two big ones together, and she dolloped this candy out onto waxed paper covering the deep freezer.

Brown Candy

3 pints white sugar
1 pint pet milk (or heavy cream)

1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 pound butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound pecan meats

Pour 1 pint sugar into a skillet and place over low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, stirring constantly so as not to burn. Place in a large pan or kettle the other 2 pints of sugar and cream (Pet milk). Boil slowly, stir often. When syrup is golden yellow, pour very slowly into the cream and sugar mixture. It is important to pour very slowly and stir all the time while pouring. Cook until firm ball in cold water then put off fire. Stir in the soda and add butter and beat until thick. Then add vanilla and nut meats. Drop by spoonful onto waxed paper.

This next recipe came from my fat friend, the late Sally King. We had the same job descriptions at different companies, and had many other things in common, including skinny little computer geek husbands. She died from leukemia in 2005 or so, and I was glad I'd had a chance to visit her at home.

It was funny, because all of a sudden, she started showing me how to make this candy, as if my life wouldn't be complete without it. I didn't know it existed until then, and have never made it since. Maybe one of these days, just to see if it's as good as she thought.

Almond Candy

1/2 cup butter (no substitute)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 cup slivered blanched almonds

Set out foil pizza pan or cookie sheet close by. Mix all ingredients in a heavy skillet over high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon and cook over medium/high heat until mixture turns dark golden brown and is just on the verge of burning. Do not stop stirring, and for candy to be crisp, do not undercook. Turn out quickly onto pan. Sets up very quickly, so immediately pound with back of spoon to spread over the entire pan and candy is really thin, the thinner the better. When cool break into pieces. Do not double the recipe.

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This recipe is technically a bar cookie, but it is every bit as good as real English toffee candy. Lower calorie and high fiber, too. The instant coffee in the dough gives it a caramelized flavor.

Toffee Nut Crunch Bars

1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat or graham flour
1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped almonds or chopped walnuts

Combine first 5 ingredients and blend thoroughly. Spread in an ungreased 13 by 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle immediately with the chips. Let stand 5 minutes; spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts and press lightly into the chocolate with a fork. When set, remove from the pan and cut or break into pieces.