praline

[ prah-leen, prey-, prah-leen ]

noun

1. a French confection consisting of a caramel-covered almond or, sometimes, a hazelnut.
2. a cookie-size confection made especially of butter, brown sugar, and pecans: developed in New Orleans in the early 19th century.
3. a similar confection of nuts mixed or covered with chocolate, coconut, maple sugar or syrup, etc.

praline

/ ˈprɑːliːn /

noun

1. a confection of nuts with caramelized sugar, used in desserts and as a filling for chocolates
2. Also calledsugared almond a sweet consisting of an almond encased in sugar

Word History and Origins

Origin of praline¹

1715–25; < French; named after Marshall César du Plessis- Praslin (1598–1675), whose cook invented them

Word History and Origins

Origin of praline¹

C18: from French, named after César de Choiseul, comte de Plessis- Praslin (1598–1675), French field marshal whose chef first concocted it

Example Sentences

Made with all locally-sourced ingredients, their pralines are rich with cream and loaded with pecans and literally melt in your mouth.

From Salon

“My parents think I’m on my camping trip. Plus I love beignets and po’boys and gumbo and pralines. Not crawfish though. I can’t eat anything that has eyes.”

From Literature

Joyce Galmon is known for her pralines, but she has made king cakes for 25 years, stuffing them with a filling made from broken pralines she could not sell.

From New York Times

Then Ella dragged Brigit to the Conjure Creole Creamery, where attendants pulled levers making decadent concretes and malted mischief milkshakes full of pralines and petit fours and pieces of pecan pie.

From Literature

It is now, of course, synonymous with the sandwich; and like beignets, jambalaya and pralines, it is quintessentially New Orleans.

From Salon