First Batch of Christmas Goodies

I promised my husband over the weekend that I would make his favorite, chocolate peanut butter fudge, for my first batch of Christmas goodies.  I delivered on that promise and it’s now cooling.  Several years back while digging around on the net, I found a simple fool-proof recipe at Martha Stewart’s website.

Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3 tablespoons best-quality cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup walnut halves, cut into large pieces

Directions:

Butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan. Sift cocoa powder and sugar into a medium bowl.

Prepare an ice bath. In a small saucepan, combine milk and cocoa powder mixture with a wooden spoon until a sandy, paste-like texture forms. Add chocolate, butter, and corn syrup. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until sugar has completely dissolved for 7 to 10 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, wash down sides of pan with cold water. Increase heat to medium. When a candy thermometer registers 236 degrees. remove the pan from heat, and place in ice bath for 5 seconds. Transfer pan to a heat-proof surface, and let sit until thermometer registers 121 degrees. about 45 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir fudge briskly until it begins to lose its sheen, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in walnuts. Spread fudge into prepared pan with wooden spoon. Using your fingers, smooth fudge. Cover with plastic; chill 30 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares. Makes about 32 pieces.

The only thing differently I do to this recipe is, I omit the walnuts and after I pour the hot chocolate fudge mixture into a prepared dish, I spoon large generous heaps of natural creamy peanut on top. I then use a butter knife to swirl the peanut through the hot fudge.  I also skip the fancy decorative ribbons wrapped around each piece shown in the photo. lol If you’re planning on making fudge this Christmas season, then I invite you to try your hand at this simple recipe.  Enjoy!