Holiday Treats for the Family

Hello my name is Steph, the owner of Pecans by Steph. I am a wife, mother of two handsome sons, new grandmother to one adorable little boy and a Veteran. My husband and sons are also Veterans. I come from a huge family which consists of mom and dad, two sisters, two brothers, eight nephews, five nieces, six great nieces, three great nephews and hundreds of cousins (my mom is the oldest of eight kids). 

During the holidays, it got quite expensive to buy, wrap and send gifts to my family members especially since we live in Texas and they live in Maryland. The holidays became overwhelming for me so one day I decided to try something different. I went to the dollar store and bought a ton of those holiday aluminum tins. My mom's favorite candy was pralines so I found a great recipe on the internet and filled each tin with homemade pralines. No more wrapping and with FedEx one rate, that holiday season was a breeze. My husband was so pleased with all the money we saved that year. Anyway, to my surprise my family absolutely loved their gifts. They never stopped talking about them especially my mom. They wanted me to make pralines for birthdays and other occasions. My mom constantly asked when the next time I was making that candy. 

Since my husband and I are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, so of course we don't eat pralines. I started feeling like a hypocrite providing that "candy" to my family members. The guilt was wearing me down so back to the drawing board. The first ingredient to go was corn syrup; no wonder my family was craving those pralines. Instead of soaking pecans in a slow cooker filled with three different kinds of sugar, why not toast them and glaze them lightly with honey or brown sugar? The end result was a sweet, healthy snack. I know my mom would be the biggest critic so she would be my first tester. She still loved the pralines but after explaining to my mom how these were healthier for her, she gave me her seal of approval. She still calls my pecans candy sometimes but that's fine with me, what's a daughter to do. My wish is that you come to love Pecans by Steph as much as my family does, especially my mom.