Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Oh Fudge!

A time-honored Christmas tradition in our home is The Making of the Fudge.

Fudge can be complicated. Or at least, I have found that to be the case.

Some fudge recipes require you to be a rocket scientist to pull them off successfully (which we all know I. Am. Not!)

Over the years, I have made some memorable batches of fudge. Like the time a friend and I met one afternoon to bake our families a bunch of Christmas sweets, including fudge. Since she had never made it before and supposedly I was the expert, she was ready to learn. I had made a point of buying a brand new candy thermometer from Walmart, just for the occasion.

We followed the recipe to a T, carefully stirring the boiling fudge, watching the temperature rise. We waited and waited. Why was it taking so long? Finally, we decided to pour it out into the pans anyway because surely by now it was ready. About half an hour later, we tried to slice a piece to sample. The fudge had turned hard as a rock! The knife wouldn't even go in! Needless to say, we didn't have fudge that Christmas. Apparently, my brand new candy thermometer had a crack in it. What a disappointment! (Sorry Becky. We're still friends, right?)

But all the trials and tears were worth it when I stumbled on this melt-in-your-mouth and oh-so-easy chocolate dream. Now this is a fudge recipe! (And no candy thermometers to mess with either.)

As my Christmas gift to you, here is my secret (well, not anymore!) never-fail fudge recipe.


The Most Amazing Fudge in the World

1/2 C. butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 T. milk
2 pkgs. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pkg milk chocolate chips
1 C. butterscotch chips
1 7-oz. jar of marshmallow cream
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
1/2 tsp. vanilla (the real deal if you have it)
1 C. chopped walnuts

Line a 13x9 pan with foil and butter it.
In a heavy saucepan, melt 3/4 C. butter over low heat.
Add the can of sweetened condensed milk, 3 T. milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir constantly till melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in butterscotch chips, marshmallow cream and flavorings, mixing well. Add in chopped walnuts (if you're the nutty type. I am, but my daughter isn't so I may leave them out this year.)
Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set. Keep in fridge until ready to serve.

(The advantage of having the foil-lined pan is that you can lift out the fudge and slice it up nice for serving. Not everyone cares about little details like that so really, it's up to you.)

Well, there you have it. How easy is that? Are you ready to go make yourself some fudge? I know I am!

Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out.

4 comments:

Ellie said...

hmmm.... hmmm... I'm not going to say it.... I'm trying really hard not to say it.... hmmm... no, I'm going to say it... that time of the month again? You're even POSTING about chocolate!

I did scads of Christmas baking this year, but my husband is not a big chocolate fan. He likes ginger cookies, date bars, and what not. The fudge looks great... but.. can't eat marshmallow cream without instant severe tummy reaction... I suspect I could leave that out... and the walnuts would really kill me... but pecans would be safe... hmm... I might just have to try it!

Angela said...

LOL! Ellie, you are BAD! (Altho, you have a point there.)

Seriously, this is a really awesome recipe and it will help anyone needing that extra chocolate fix, especially if you substitute some dark chocolate chips for the semi-sweet. Hmmn, may have to try that myself!

KarenLana said...

Hi Ang, this is one I'm going to try. I've had fudge recipes in the past where the chocolate seizes up and turns to concrete so I enjoy the no fuss variety much better!

BTW, have you ever tried the one made with Velveeta? Yep, you read correctly and NO you cannot taste any cheesiness at all. I tested it out on a group of 20, telling them there was a secret ingredient. They all raved and raved and ate and ate and never once guessed. No one believed me when I told them what it was and then they proceeded to eat every last bite, LOL!

Rebecca Conduff Aguirre said...

Was that me 'Becky'? Cuz if it was, I don't remember that...lol...that looks like a great recipe, although I'm not sure I can get the marshmallow cream here...I will look. Miguel would love the fudge! :)