Have you seen those slabs of gourmet fudge in different flavors at candy and specialty stores? Now you can make your own for gifts or to enjoy yourself. The following is a basic recipe. It is very easy and very versatile. It doesn’t require a candy thermometer and turns out every time.
Basic Recipe
In a heavy 2 quart saucepan combine:
2 cups of sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
pinch of salt
½. When mixture starts to boil stir for another 5 mintues.
Remove from heat and add:
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir until smooth and then add:
1 cup chocolate chips
Stir until smooth. You may optionally add:
1 cup of nuts
Poor into a 9×9 square pan and refrigerate. Serve once firm by slicing into one inch squares.
Fun Combinations
Once you have tried the basic fudge it is time to get creative. The chocolate chips, vanilla extract and nuts can all be swapped for different types and flavors. Chocolate chips also come in peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate, and many more. Vanilla extract can be changed to almond, rum, butter, mint, orange, raspberry, strawberry, coconut and more. Instead of nuts you can use coconut flakes, raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, or any sort of chopped up candy bar. Think of combinations that will work well together. You can also try sprinkling spices like cinnamon and nutmeg into your fudge and stirring it in before pouring it into your pan.
Some of our favorite combinations are:
-White chocolate with crushed Oreo cookies
-Dark chocolate, almond flavoring and dried cherries
-Half milk chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips with Reese’s Peanut Butter cups
-Milk chocolate, pecans, toasted coconut flakes (drizzle caramel on top for a German chocolate cake flavor)
-White chocolate, strawberry flavoring, pink food coloring and crushed grahm crackers
-White chocolate, rum extract, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg (tastes like eggnog)
Fudge Tips
This recipe is for the type of fudge that is best kept refrigerated. It can be frozen for up to three months. Keep in mind that the quality of the fudge once thawed will depend on what you have added to the fudge. Nuts freeze well; crisped rice cereal does not since it tends to get soggy during the unthawing process. Experiment by freezing a small piece of your fudge and then unthawing it before freezing the whole batch.
Wrap your fudge tightly before storing. It will keep a few weeks refrigerated. It will not spoil in the traditional way but mold may start to grow after quite awhile.
You are not limited to pouring your fudge into a square pan. Try pouring it into unique containers to make gifts. Containers like baskets and small hat boxes can be use if you carefully line them with waxed paper first. Try pouring your fudge into mini bundt cake pans and then turn it out and slicing it like you would a cake before serving. Make sure if you intend to turn your fudge out of it’s container before cutting that you either grease it well or line it with waxed paper. You can use wooden wheels intended for cheese. Tie the whole thing up with a ribbon for an excellent gift for someone around the holidays.
This fudge is so easy that you should be able to make up several batches of different flavors in one evening. Experiment with different flavors and most of all – Enjoy!
