Menu Monday: Remarkable Fudge

Okay, so the title has “menu” in it but I’m only giving you a recipe for fudge.  But it is the  Christmas season and I can’t let it go by us without offering up the recipe for “Remarkable Fudge.”

I am not absolutely positive, but I am pretty sure that this is the fudge, from the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cookbook published in 1959, is the same one my sisters and I used to make when we were teenagers.   The picture, shown above, seems awfully familiar to me.  We also used the recipe that is on the back of the Kraft marshmallow creme jar but I always remember the Kraft fudge as being a little grittier than the Remarkable Fudge.

Making fudge is pretty straitforward but you need to pretend that you are on a cooking show and have everything ready to pour into the heated sugar, milk, and butter mixture once it has reached temperature.  Other things that are important are a good candy thermometer and a heavy 3-quart pan.  As you can see from the photo below, when the mixture starts boiling, it fills the pan.  Don’t try to “fudge” (I crack myself up sometimes) by using a smaller pan.  You will end up with a mess.

The instructions say to stir frequently but I start stirring constantly when the sugar-milk-butter mixture starts to boil.  I’ve learned in the past that if I don’t, I end up with scorches in the mixture that can taste pretty bitter (despite all of that sugar!).

I used an 8x8x2″ cake pan but wouldn’t recommend it.  Even the 1 1/2″ square pieces were huge because of the the depth of them.  This fudge is very rich and I would follow their recommendation to use 13×9 1/2×2″ pan for thinner pieces.

Are their easier ways to make fudge?  Sure.  “Extra Easy Fudge” uses a container of frosting, chocolate chips, and the microwave.  But we aren’t necessarily about “easy” or “quick.”  For us, the process of making fudge the old-fashioned way is just as important as the final product.  There is just something deeply satisfying about being in the moment with stirring the sugar, milk, and butter mixture while watching it come to a full boil and then feeling it change texture and consistency as it becomes candy.  As I was making it, I was also savoring the memories of making fudge with my sisters (and wishing they were in the kitchen with me last night).

The recipe calls for a pint of marshmallow creme.  All I could find were 7 ounce jars–thank you product shrinkage!  However, the lack of that one ounce didn’t seem to matter in the final outcome.

Remarkable Fudge

Just velvety–wonderful!   And so foolproof, you can make a big batch like this.

Almost to the soft-ball stage

Butter sides of heavy 3-quart saucepan.  In it combine sugar, milk, and butter.  Cook over medium heat to soft-ball stage (236* F.), stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and add chocolate, marshmallow creme, vanilla, and nuts.  Beat till chocolate is melted and blended.  Pour into a buttered 9x9x2-inch pan.* Score in squares, while

Stirring in chocolate, marshmallow creme, vanilla

warm; cut when firm.  Makes 3 dozen 1 1/2-inch pieces.

*For thinner pieces, pour fudge into 13×9 1/2×2-inch pan.

****

What are your favorite memories of cooking/baking holiday treats?

By the way, a lot of this fudge was sent with My Honey to be given to the department secretaries and for his students.  You didn’t think I was going to actually eat all of that fudge, did you?  (Although I had to do a lot of taste testing to just make sure it was “right”)

Temptation cooling