Fancy Fudge...Fantastic!

Who doesn’t like fudge? No sane person we know. A nice (and impressive) food gift is a box of homemade fudge. What we like to do is make several varies and then fill the box with a sampling of tasty flavors.

If you don’t mind putting a little effort into making fudge, then try this out.

P’Butter Fudge

1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
½ cup milk
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Melt butter in a pot on the stove over medium to med-high heat.

Add brown sugar and milk then bring to a boil for two minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla, blend well.

Pour mixture over confectioner’s sugar.

Line an 8 x 8” pan with wax paper (or foil) and spread fudge evenly in pan.
Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to firm up.

For those who like something a little easier, you’ll like this recipe. It’s very versatile and possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Simply Fudge

3 cups chips (chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

In a pot on the stove, mix chips and milk together.
Over low heat, stir occasionally until all the chips are melted.
Line an 8 x 8” pan with wax paper (or foil) and spread fudge evenly in pan.

So here’s where we decided to get creative.

White Chocolate-Cherry-Walnut Fudge

Make Simply Fudge using white chocolate chips.

Once the chips are melted, add in chopped dried cherries (alternately you can use dried cranberries) and finely chopped walnuts (come packaged as such). Then pour into the pan.

Chocolate Pecan Fudge

Make Simply Fudge using chocolate chips (we use a blend of semi-sweet and milk chocolate morsels). Once the chips are melted, add in chopped pecans. Then pour into pan.

Chocolate Mint Fudge

Melt 2/3 cup of white chocolate chips in the microwave, add a drop of green food coloring and ¼ tsp of peppermint extract. Set aside.

Make Simply Fudge using chocolate chips. Once the chips are melted, pour into pan.

Drop about 2/3 of the mint chocolate mixture on top of the fudge, and using a knife, blend it into the chocolate fudge. Some of it may blend, but the main purpose it to work a marbled layering into the fudge. Put the fudge in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes allowing it to cool a bit before drizzling the rest of the mint chocolate mixture on top (may have to reheat to smooth out again). If the mixture doesn’t drizzle well, add a smidge of shortening to it thin it out.

In honor of the winter holidays, we decided we wanted to add another familiar flavor to our fudge collection and used a recipe we found online.

Eggnog Fudge

www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe257.eggnog-fudge.com

It’s got great flavor, but we recommend using about 1 cup less sugar than the recipe calls for or else you’ll be giving someone a sugar coma to end all sugar comas. It doesn’t set up as firm as the others, but we would still recommend giving it a whirl.

Finishing Touches

You can find candy boxes in craft stores, like Michaels or AC Moore, in the cake decorating section. If you’re a local Durhamite, you can also find them at Not Just Paper. They’re available in ¼ lb and ½ lb sizes. Line the box with wax paper and will with fudge flavors. Add in a small knife and then if you’re feeling ambitious, add in a card with the fudge descriptions. Tie it up neatly with a bow and Voila! People love the look because it looks professional and you will be able to blow them away when you tell them you made it yourself!