Palanquetas 1971 (Mexican Pecan Brittle)

Retana, Betty. La Cocina de Doña ventura. México : Ed. Epoca, 1971. Pp. 135.

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Original Recipe/Receta Original:

Palanquetas (Hidalgo)

¼ de taza de miel de piloncillo, espesa
2 tazas de azúcar blanca
1 taza de agua hirviendo
4 tazas de nueces peladas, en mitadesdo

En una cacerola se deja el azúcar. Se vierte el agua hirviendo y se revuelve bien para que se derrita. Se agrega la miel de piloncillo y se deja hasta que tome punto de bola. Se retira del fuego, agregando las nueces y se revuelve, a acremar. Se ponen cucharaditas sobre una lata o platón con grasa, para que enfríen.

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Translated Recipe/Receta Traducida:

Palanquetas (Hidalgo)

¼ cup thick brown sugar syrup
2 cups white sugar
1 cup boiling water
4 cups pecans, halved

Place the white sugar into a saucepan. Add the boiling water and stir well until all of the sugar is disolved. Add the brown sugar syrup and cook until it reaches the ball stage. Remove from heat, add nuts and stir to combine. Place teaspoon-fulls of the mixture on a greased baking sheet or platter, and cool.

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Commentary/Comentario:

Palanquetas are crisp sugar-nut candies, a little like peanut brittle. Note that this recipe does not specify whether the candy mixture should reach soft-ball or hard-ball stage before it is removed from the heat; however, other similar recipes I have found suggest the hard ball stage, which is approximately 245 degrees fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.

To make brown sugar syrup, try this recipe from Mexconnect: combine brown loaf sugar (usually sold in cones) with water in a saucepan, using a ratio of 1 pound loaf sugar to 6 cups water, and cooking over low to medium heat while stirring constantly, until the desired consistency is achieved.