Fudge ... The Queen-Mother of Dirty Words

For so many of us, fudge is something either you make well, or you never attempt it since the day you wasted all of your ingredients and made chocolate water. I've had fudge taste like ocean water sand, made fudge that looked and tasted good but never went past the flood water consistency (therefore, I gave lots of 'hot fudge sauce' that year.) Batch after batch, I tried and each and every time - regardless of how it tasted, you could either drink it or use it to fill in the potholes of your driveway. I'm pretty sure during the wind storm we had here in September of 2008, our home was the only one on the block whose roof stayed firmly intact; it was the great fudge of 1996 my husband used to glue those suckers down.

All that changed in 1996. It was the year I lost my mom, and that Christmas I thought I would try one last time to make the fudge she was so famous for. Now my mom had long given up the fudge made by my grandmother; I remember when they made the old time fudge, you had to beat it until it lost its gloss. If that's the fudge you remember, then these recipes are not for you. This is a creamy fudge, like pure silk. And it was December of 1996 that I finally got it right. It may have helped that I used my mother's pan; it's a heavy, turquoise Club Aluminum pan my father actually bought her before I was born. And she had one wooden spoon that was used only for fudge. Her recipe, she has timed exactly right so she never used a candy thermometer or dropped some in cold water to get to the soft ball stage. I remember standing at the stove and knowing this was my last chance to get it right. I followed her recipe, used a timer so I wouldn't have to guess at anything. When I poured that fudge into the buttered pan and realized it was actually going to turn into fudge, well I knew it was the combination of her pan, her spoon, her recipe and most of all, with one taste of that fudge I could actually close my eyes and remember as a child how it felt to be with her again - if only for a second.

As I got better at making fudge, I started playing around with flavors. I now make at least four flavors each year; Chocolate and Peanut Butter which are pretty standard at the holidays. But I have two flavors, Snickerdoodle White Fudge and Orange-Walnut White Fudge I've made on my own and they are just as popular as the traditional.

Catt's Chocolate Fudge

3 cups sugar (I use only Domino's)
1 1/2 sticks butter (I use salted butter, or Kroger brand 80% vegetable oil margarine)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
2 teaspoons pure vanilla


Grease 1 13x9 pan, or 2 8 oz square pans.

Basic instructions for all fudge:
Stir together sugar, butter and milk in a heavy saucepan (mine is 3 qts) over a medium heat. Bring to a full boil, and boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add the marshmallow cream, mixing until blended (make sure you work sort of quickly at this stage; you aren't in a race but you shouldn't stop.) Add the chocolate chips, mix until melted then add the vanilla - remember, work quickly. Pour into greased pan. Let it cool at room temperature about 2 hours, then cut into small squares. I've started putting parchment paper on the bottom of the pan (I just ever so slightly grease the parchment paper) that makes it easy to pop out of the pan, and gives you a cleaner cut since there is no lifting each piece from the pan with a spatula.

If you want 'male fudge' then add 1 cups finely chopped walnuts after adding the chocolate.


Catt's Peanut Butter Fudge

3 cups sugar (again, I use Domino's)
1 1/2 sticks butter (I use unsalted butter for the PB fudge or the 80% vegetable oil margarine)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (10oz bag)
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
2 tsp. vanilla

Follow the basic instructions above, substituting peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips.


Catt's Snickerdoodle Fudge

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (I use salted butter or the 80% vegetable oil margarine)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 (12 oz) package white chocolate chips (I use Nestle white chocolate chips)
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
Red or green sugar or Cinnamon Sugar (optional)

Follow basic instructions above, substituting white chips for chocolate chips; blend both extracts and add last. When you pour into pan while fudge it still hot, sprinkle the top of the fudge with colored sugar, or cinnamon sugar. Tastes like a snickerdoodle cookie!


Catt's Orange Walnut White Fudge

3 cups sugar (I use Domino's)
1 1/2 sticks butter (I use unsalted butter for this recipe, or the 80% vegetable margarine)
2/3 cups evaporated milk
12 oz white chocolate chips (I use Nestle)
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
3/4 cup chopped walnuts


Use basic instructions above, substituting white chocolate chips for chocolate chips; after adding extracts, quickly stir in zest and walnuts.


I hope this will become a holiday tradition for you and your family, as it has mine!