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by Dale Matthews

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup walnut
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey

Original Pralines made with Pecans are traditional in the South. I grabbed a bag of nuts one day and did this recipe with Walnuts. Wow, turned out a little lighter and less sweet tasting. Great! Now I can eat more than one at a time. Pecans are too rich! Some original ingredients from Sara Dolezal, Allrecipes.com

Directions

1. Combine sugars and milk in saucepan over medium heat. Stirring, with a wood spoon, to not scorch milk.
2. Spray baking non-stick spray on cookie sheet or aluminum foil laid on top of thick towels.
3. Once mixture boils, stir in butter, walnuts, spices and honey. Continue to heat, without stirring, until between 235 to 240 degrees F. (113 to 116 degrees C) Recommended you purchase a digital thermometer – great investment!
4. Once temperature has been reached, remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
5. Beat until thickened until liquid poured from wooden spoon starts to pour slowly.
   Immediately drop by spoon-fulls onto sprayed cookie sheet or foil.
6. Let cool and freeze in small bags of 3 to 4 per bag. THESE ARE SO GOOD YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EAT JUST ONE!

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 lb butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup water
2 ready-made pie crusts

This recipe is taken from “the ultimate GULLAH cookbook,” a book about the African American Gullah people, a taste of Food, History and Culture from the Gullah people of southeastern USA. I have slightly embelished the original recipe to put the sweet potato into a pastry to be a finger food.

Directions

1. Wash potatoes and leave peelings on. Place in pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, boil until slightly tender, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and water, let cool 30 minutes.
3. Start to preheat oven to 375°F.
4. Remove peelings with edge of spoon, either thinly slice or mash potatoes with backside of a large spoon.
5. Use a round cookie cutter or upside down glass to cut the dough in circles. Spray a cupcake tin with non-stick spray for baking. Line each cupcake hole with pie crust circle.
6. Fill pastry to 1/4 inch of top with slices or mashed potato.
7. Combine sugar, spices, evaporated milk and water in a jar with a lid. Shake to blend well and cover sweet potatoes with the blend.
8. Place a “dollop” of butter (about 2 teaspoons) on top of each pie.
9. Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F.