Servings: 2 dozen

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons butter
2 cups sugar 2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk ¾ cup milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups pecan halves or pieces 1 ½ cups pecan halves or pieces

Line two large sheet pans with wax paper and 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
Combine sugar, milk and baking soda in a medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage), 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove pot from heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla extract and stir quickly until completely incorporated and creamy, about 20 seconds. Add pecans and stir well to coat.
Working quickly, drop generous spoonfuls of candy onto prepared pans to form disks about 2 inches wide. Let them cool and harden completely, about 2 hours. Carefully peel the pralines from the wax paper. Serve at once or store in airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Notes: We lined our pans with parchment, so we used only the 1 tablespoon butter for the candy. This was the easiest of the three recipes; the hot candy was easy to work with in making the disks. The color of the candy was the darkest with a true caramelized sugar and nut flavor.