How To Make Creamy Chocolate Fudge
Posted: Saturday, September 01, 2007
by Adrienne Petersen
http://www.myhomebiztips.com
Creamy Chocolate Fudge has always been my
favorite candy. It's a very rich candy though, so I have always
limited myself to making it only at Christmas time. For years I
looked for the perfect fudge recipe. I made many different recipes
that were really good, but just not "perfect". I had three
main requirements for a perfect creamy chocolate fudge recipe:
Easy. It has to be an easy
recipe. I don't make candy often enough to remember the intricacies
of dealing with candy thermometers, hard ball, soft ball, let alone
remember the right millisecond in time to jump in and do something
with the candy.
Taste. Of course, it has to
be delicious, but my perfect fudge has to have that creamy
melt-in-your-mouth texture. I've made many fudge recipes that turned
out grainy for me. I'm sure I did something wrong along the way, but
I didn't want to have to worry about that.
Availability of Ingredients.
The perfect fudge recipe has to use ingredients readily available at
any grocery store. In the past, I used to make a chocolate fudge
that used marshmallow creme in the recipe. Many time I would have to
go from store to store to find it, as it would be all sold out at
Christmas time.
Finally, about 20 years ago a friend of
mine gave me some fudge that she had made for Christmas. EUREKA!
This was the fudge I had been looking for all of my life! What was
even better is that my friend didn't mind sharing her recipe, and
ever since then, I have made several batches of this fudge every year
for Christmas and it has always turned out perfect.
Creamy Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Follow these directions and you'll make
creamy and delicious chocolate fudge every time.
This recipe makes 5 pounds of fudge,
unless you make it without nuts, then it's 4 pounds.
Ingredients You Will Need:
- 20 oz. Hershey's milk chocolate bars - I buy the big ones that are always on sale at Christmas time, but any size will do, just make sure it adds up to 20 oz. If you like darker fudge, substitute some or all of the 20 oz. with the semi-sweet chocolate bars.
- 1 cup butter (not margarine!), softened to room temperature. Also, a little extra butter for your pans.
- 1-12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Use a good brand, as in Nestle's, Hershey's, or Ghiradelli. If you prefer lighter fudge, use milk chocolate chips.
- 4 cups granulated sugar.
- 1 and 2/3 cups evaporated milk
- 2 and 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, use the real stuff
- 1 pound of nuts, chopped
In your large stainless steel bowl,
break up the milk chocolate candy bars and the butter into small
pieces. Pour in chocolate chips and set aside.
Grease your pans with butter. You'll
need two 9x13 inch flat cake pans, but you can use smaller or larger
pans depending on what you have available, and how thick you want
your fudge to be. It's best to have a couple of extra smaller pans
ready just in case.
In a large saucepan or pot, combine
sugar, evaporated milk and mini marshmallows. Bring to a boil over
medium heat, stirring constantly. Tip: Don't scrape the sides of the
pot when you are stirring, it tends to make candy taste grainy.
Cook and stir at a light but steady
boil for 7 minutes. You might see some brownish bits floating around
as its cooking. This is normal. Remove from heat, pour over butter
and chocolate in your bowl.
With a wooden spoon, stir until melted
and well blended. Continue to stir until candy loses some of it's
shine. (The shine should go from a shiny, high gloss to a matte
gloss). Stir in vanilla and nuts, if desired.* Pour into buttered
pans. Cool completely before cutting into pieces. Use a knife dipped
in hot water for cutting.
*If you don't want nuts in your fudge,
this is where you leave them out. If you want to make a pan of fudge
without nuts, then first stir in the vanilla, then pour how much you
want without nuts into a pan, and then add nuts to the remaining
fudge. You'll need to adjust the amount of nuts then. For example, if
you're making half of your fudge without nuts and half with, then
only use 8 oz. of nuts.
Adrienne Petersen invites you to visit Adrienne's Free
Cooking Recipes Online, where you'll find delicious free
recipes and helpful cooking tips. Have a favorite recipe you'd like
to share? Submit your
recipes and cooking tips here!</a>
Adrienne? I made this recipe twice. It's coming out really greasy. Is this normal? It never has a smooth texture when I'm mixing it. It appears gritty like the butter isn't mixing in. When it sets up, there are greasy spots. How do I get the butter to mix in? Should I try putting it in with the sugar, and cooking it? I'm at about 4800 ft.
