Oh, Fudge: Grandma's Fudge

I associate fudge and peanut brittle with Christmas. Every year my family would spend a day making fudge and peanut brittle to distribute to friends, family, and bosses. Due to the boiling of sugars, I wasn't permitted to help much with it until I was in my teens. These recipes require either one quick and talented person or two people. I will present the recipe and directions for fudge now and peanut brittle in the next post.

This recipe for fudge is the one my grandma used for years and years. I don't think my family ever used a different fudge recipe. Due to the addition of nuts, I never ate much of this fudge. In my opinion, the nuts add flavor to the entire fudge mixture, so picking them out wasn't an option. We made some this year without nuts. The fudge is sweet, soft, and chocolaty.

Grandma's Fudge (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
1/3 C butter
1 12oz can evaporated milk
4 1/2 C sugar
18 oz chocolate chips
1 pint marshmallow cream
1 1/2 C nuts (optional)

Place the butter, evaporated milk, and sugar in a large pan. Heat over medium heat until boiling.

Meanwhile, place the opened jar of marshmallow cream in a shallow pan filled with water. Warm this over low heat. Heating the marshmallow cream will make it easier to remove from the jar.

Once the sugar mixture reaches a boil, continue to boil for 8 minutes while stirring constantly. For softer fudge, boil for only 6 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir constantly until melted.

Add the marshmallow cream and stir until completely combined. The optional nuts are also added at this point.

Pour the chocolate-fudge mixture into a buttered pan. Let set for a day or so before cutting. Cut with a hot knife and store in a closed container.