Macadamia Fudge

I love chocolate but I’m not a big fan of fudge. I think it’s because I feel like eating fudge is a waste of calories; I’d rather just eat a square of dark chocolate.

I don’t have a go-to fudge recipe since I don’t eat it so I started looking around for recipes. I admit I was nervous, especially after all the trouble I had last week with the mint recipe. Most of the simple and easy recipes called for a jar of marshmallow fluff or mini marshmallows. I detest marshmallows and marshmallow fluff; way too sweet and sugary for my taste. I found it difficult to find an easy fudge recipe that did not include this stuff. I learned in my recipe research that fudge gets its smooth consistency from careful temperature monitoring. For people who don’t want to fiddle around with a candy thermometer to maintain the perfect fudge cooking temperature, marshmallow fluff is the secret to smoothness. So what about people, like me, who don’t want to deal with a candy thermometer nor add a jar of marshmallow fluff?

There had to be a recipe out there for me so I kept searching for a fudge that sounded appealing. I finally settled on this marshmallow fluff-free recipe. It turned out to be pretty good, a bit on the sweet side, but still good. Using evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk might cut down on the sweetness factor. I ended up making a full batch and froze some. Though, at the rate that Mr. Surly is eating them up, the frozen ones might not last much longer.

Tonight I head north to the city of Brotherly Love for the next week and a half to be with family for Christmas. I envision myself snuggled up on the couch, watching movies while being attended to by worried, loving family members. It will be wonderful to be coddled and made much of. Though I’m not looking forward to cold temps and snow.



Macadamia Fudge
Printer-friendly recipe
yield: ~2 lbs

18 oz semisweet chocolate (~3 c chocolate chips)
1 can (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
pinch salt
5 oz (~1 c) chopped macadamia nuts
1 ½ tsp vanilla
butter, for greasing the dish

Line an 8x8 inch square pan with foil. Grease the foil with butter, set aside.

Melt the chocolate, milk, and pinch salt, either on the stove over low heat, or in the microwave in 30 sec intervals. I combined them in a 4 qt glass measuring cup and melted in the microwave.

Once chocolate is melted, stir in the vanilla and nuts. Pour into prepared pan and chill until firm (~2 hrs).

Lift foil out of pan; peel away from fudge. Cut into bite-sized squares. Store in airtight container.



Source: Taste of Home’s Best Loved Cookies and Candies 2010