Chocolate Fudge

Food gifts are the best . . . I love to give them as well as receive them . . . especially sweets. Fudge is one of the perfect gifts to give anyone. The methods of packing and gift wrapping are endless . . . just about everyone loves fudge . . . it is one of those universal gifts . . .

When I quit working and suddenly had to adjust to being a one-income family, store bought gifts were the first thing to go . . . especially the past extravagance of Christmas. I was blessed with the ability to create cool and unique items that everyone in the family loved to receive. Handmade gifts are so appreciated by most people because they are special and made with lots of love. Teenagers into designer names are the exception . . . but I made them realize that setting the trends and being unique was more cool than being like the sheep who follow everyone else.

This is the only fudge recipe I use . . . CHOCOLATE . . . it is the only one I need . . . it is that good and relatively easy.  Even in my working days, we had a tradition of taking vacation days around the Christmas holiday, we baked and cooked non-stop in preparation for our annual Christmas party and made lots of food gifts for our guests to take home. I remember one year spending two days just making batches of fudge, one at a time . . . those were the good ole days for me! 





Makes 100 1-inch pieces


12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels

7 ounces marshmallow creme

4 1/2 cups sugar

13 ounces evaporated milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups broken walnuts






Place chocolate bars, morsels and marshmallow creme in a bowl.

Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil on high, stirring constantly. When the mixture boils, lower heat to medium and set a timer for 6 minutes. Keep mixture boiling steadily and stir constantly during this time to prevent scorching.

At the end of 6 minutes, pour boiling syrup over chocolate and marshmallow creme. Beat until chocolate is melted and well blended. Beat in the vanilla and nuts.

Pour into a lightly buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Let cool at room temperature for 24 hours. Cut into 1 inch squares and pack in airtight containers.







I have no idea where this recipe came from, but I have used it year after year since I was out on my own.

Fantasy Fudge

This is the original, older version of the Fantasy Fudge recipe from the back of the Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar.  Kraft has changed the original recipe, but I found it in my stockpile of old labels, newspaper clippings and old magazines.



Ingredients:


3 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. jar Kraft Marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts
1 tablespoon vanilla




Directions:


Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.


Makes 3 pounds.

Butter Pecan Fudge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped


Directions:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugars, cream and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in pecans.

2. Spread into a buttered 8-inch square dish. Cool to room temperature. Cut into 1-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


Tip:

When making fudge, you can simply butter or grease the pan with cooking spray to prevent the candy from sticking. But many recipes suggest first lining the pan with foil. This allows the fudge to be lifted out of the pan in one piece. Cutting the fudge outside of the pan prevents the pan from being scratched by the knife and also allows for more evenly cut pieces. To prepare a foil-lined pan, line the pan with foil extending over the sides of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or coat with cooking spray.


Source: Taste of Home Holiday, December 2009 Christmas Cookies & Candies