New Year’s Eve can be so anticlimactic: Everything’s crowded, everyone gets too drunk, and the fun doesn’t last much past midnight if you’ve been pounding drinks since the sun went down. Switch gears this New Year’s and make a resolution to get more ganja into your life! Cook Ashley Boudreaux was inspired by her grandma to make a cannabis-infused praline that lights up the night without sending you home early. Since it’s a big party night, this recipe uses a stronger dose of cannabutter than usual, so consider handing out the pralines one at a time to your friends about ninety minutes before midnight. When the big moment arrives, everyone will want to kiss the cook! And that’s when you give them another praline …
STONES 14
½ ounce medium-grade ganja, trimmed and cleaned
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups pecans
½ cup evaporated milk
1. In a double boiler over low heat, cook the ganja, butter, and 1 tablespoons water for 1½ hour. With a metal fine-mesh strainer, strain the butter into a cast-iron pot.
2. Add the sugars, pecans, and milk and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon, until you reach the softball stage—240°F on a candy thermometer. At precisely 240°F, remove the pot from the heat. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken. Spoon it in tablespoons quickly onto wax paper and let it harden. Store individually wrapped in wax paper.
Note: This recipe doesn’t scale up. Do not attempt to make larger batches; the texture won’t stay consistent.