Flying Saucers — The Pralines That Finally Passed MawMaw’s Test

Last week of the internship. We presented our reflection essays to the group on Thursday — not reading them aloud but talking about them, which is harder. Deja talked about birds and about learning to notice what's absent as much as what's present. Tomás talked about the way water carries memory — chemical, mineral, historical. Soo-Yeon talked about legal frameworks and where they fail the ecosystems they're meant to protect. Marcus talked about the Ninth Ward and the basin and the thread that connects them. And I talked about Grandpa Elijah and the traditional ecological knowledge chapter and MawMaw's kitchen and what it means that the people who know a place most deeply are rarely the ones whose knowledge gets cited.

Dr. Landry listened to all five of us and then sat quiet for a moment and said, "This is exactly what I hoped for." She rarely says exactly what she hoped for. I kept the words.

She asked me privately afterward if I'd considered graduate school in environmental science. I said I'd been thinking about it. She said she would write me a letter of support for graduate programs when the time came, and that she would mean every word of it. I drove home that evening feeling like something had been recognized that I hadn't known needed recognizing.

Mama made pralines Friday night, MawMaw's pralines, which she has finally begun making herself after years of deferring. She said she'd been practicing. They were excellent — the right crack, the right chew, the right brown-butter sweetness. She lined them up on wax paper and they set perfectly. She texted MawMaw a photo and MawMaw replied: "Now we're talking." That text may be the highest culinary honor in our family.

Mama’s pralines Friday night were the exclamation point on a week that had already given me more than I expected — recognition I hadn’t known I needed, and a letter of support I’ll carry into whatever comes next. The recipe she used, the one she’s been quietly practicing, traces back to these flying saucers: round, glossy, set-perfect on wax paper, the kind of candy that lands flat and spreads just right before it hardens into something you can’t stop reaching for. MawMaw’s “Now we’re talking” is not given lightly, and neither is this recipe — but here it is, for anyone ready to practice until they get it right.

Flying Saucers

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 24 pralines

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups pecan halves, lightly toasted

Instructions

1. Prepare your surface. Line two large baking sheets with wax paper and set them near the stove. Have a wooden spoon and a tablespoon-size scoop or spoon ready.
2. Combine sugars and cream. In a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt over medium heat until the sugars begin to dissolve.
3. Cook to soft-ball stage. Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring, then clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the thermometer reads 236—240°F (soft-ball stage), about 15—18 minutes.
4. Remove and cool briefly. Take the pan off the heat. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 2 minutes — this rest helps the pralines set with the right chew rather than turning grainy.
5. Add vanilla and pecans. Stir in the vanilla extract and toasted pecan halves. Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2—3 minutes, until it thickens, turns slightly opaque, and loses its glossy sheen.
6. Drop onto wax paper. Working quickly, drop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared wax paper, spacing them about 2 inches apart. The candy will spread into flat, round discs — the flying saucers. If the mixture thickens too fast in the pan, set it briefly over low heat and stir to loosen.
7. Let set completely. Allow the pralines to cool and harden at room temperature for at least 20—30 minutes. They are ready when they are firm, matte on top, and lift cleanly from the wax paper.
8. Store. Layer between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to one week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 35mg