Every year in the weeks leading up to Christmas my mother makes a large assortment of sweet treats. There are cookies like classic chocolate chip, oatmeal cranberry, and even coconut macaroons. But she also makes simple candies like chocolate-covered toffee and today’s recipe for good old fashioned fudge.
What exactly is fudge?
Simply put, fudge is a type of soft sugar candy made out of sugar, butter, and milk. It is smooth & creamy in texture, but can also include a varying array of chopped nuts for a wonderful textural contrast. And while most people would associate fudge with chocolate, in reality, it can be made with just about any flavor.
There is peanut butter fudge, marshmallow fudge, and even maple fudge. In fact, one of the most popular flavors for fudge in the U.K. is rum raisin. But today we are going to keep it traditional and make basic chocolate fudge with chopped walnuts.
The softball temperature
The key to making great homemade fudge is cooking the sugar, butter, and milk mixture to the softball temperature. If you don’t then the sugar won’t dissolve properly and your fudge will have a grainy texture. Similarly, if you cook your fudge well past the softball temperature it will get too hard.
So what is the softball temperature?
235 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit, or 112 to 116 Celcius.
And the best way to ensure that your candy reaches this desired temperature is to use a standard candy thermometer. So if you don’t have one, then you can purchase one from the link I will provide below. That being said you can still check for the softball temperature without a candy thermometer.
To do it, simply place a drop of the cooked sugar, butter, and milk mixture into a cup of cold water. If it has reached the softball temperature then the mixture should form into a small ball that can easily be smooshed when pressed between two fingers.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Today we will be using a mixture of semi-sweet chocolate chips and Hershey bars to flavor our fudge. That being said you can just as easily swap out the semi-sweet chocolate with either white chocolate, or dark chocolate. And similarly, if you don’t like the taste of Hershey chocolate you can swap it out with a brand that you prefer. Just make sure that the amounts are the same and you will be fine.
- We will also be adding some chopped walnuts to our fudge. However, if you are making this fudge for someone that has a nut allergy, then omit the walnuts entirely.
Grandma’s Fudge Recipe
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Servings: 30 to 40 pieces
Ingredients
12 oz. of Semi-sweet chocolate chips
7 oz. of marshmallow cream (fluff)
2 Hersheys chocolate bars, about 3.1 oz.
2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 Cup of chopped walnuts
4 Cups of sugar
4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
12 oz. Can of evaporated milk
Instructions
- Get out a large mixing bowl and add the chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, chocolate bars, vanilla extract, and walnuts to it.
- Cook the sugar, butter & milk to the softball stage: Get out a medium-large sized pot and place the sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in it. Make sure that the pot is much bigger than you think you’ll need because the mixture will boil up as it cooks. Stir everything together and place over medium heat. Keep stirring this mixture until it comes to a boil and continues stirring for 8 to 10 minutes until it reaches what’s known as “softball” temperature, 240 degrees Fahrenheit (116 Celcius).
- Pour the hot mixture into the bowl that the other ingredients are in. Then use a wooden spoon to stir everything together until they are incorporated.
- Form & set the fudge: Quickly pour this fudge mixture into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish and use a spatula to smooth it out on top.
Cover the baking dish with some plastic wrap and let it sit in your fridge for an hour to set up.
- Take the fudge out of the fridge and use a sharp knife to cut the fudge into small cubes, enjoy!
Grandmas Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz. of Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 7 oz. of marshmallow cream fluff
- 2 Hersheys chocolate bars about 3.1 oz.
- 2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 Cup of chopped walnuts
- 4 Cups of sugar
- 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 12 oz. Can of evaporated milk
Instructions
- Get out a large mixing bowl and add the chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, chocolate bars, vanilla extract, and walnuts to it.
- Cook the sugar, butter & milk to the softball stage: Get out a medium-large sized pot and place the sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in it. Make sure that the pot is much bigger than you think you’ll need because the mixture will boil up as it cooks. Stir everything together and place over medium heat. Keep stirring this mixture until it comes to a boil and continues stirring for 8 to 10 minutes until it reaches what’s known as “softball” temperature, 240 degrees Fahrenheit (116 Celcius).
- Pour the hot mixture into the bowl that the other ingredients are in. Then use a wooden spoon to stir everything together until they are incorporated.
- Form & set the fudge: Quickly pour this fudge mixture into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish and use a spatula to smooth it out on top. Cover the baking dish with some plastic wrap and let it sit in your fridge for an hour to set up.
- Take the fudge out of the fridge and use a sharp knife to cut the fudge into small cubes, enjoy!
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