Food Fridays >> Family Recipe Fudge

My second cousin once-removed has a recipe for two different kinds of fudge that are really easy to make and SO GOOD! She taught me how to make them, and with her and I both having a love of baking, they've become a staple dessert in our family!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick butter
9 large marshmallows
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

• Cook sugar, milk, and butter until soft-ball stage, then take off heat. (see explanation below for soft-ball stage w/o using a thermometer)
• Add marshmallows and peanut butter (immediately after taking previous mixture off heat) and beat/stir until thoroughly mixed. 
• Pour in buttered dish (I use an 8x8 pan), and let cool.

Just poured

Mmm!

It looks dry and crumbly when it's done, but it's actually very moist.

Soft-Ball Stage Instructions
In candy cooking, there is soft-ball and hard-ball stage. Basically, soft-ball stage forms when the mixture sticks together but is still pliable, when a small amount is dropped into cold water. Hard-ball stage forms when the mixture forms a hard, non-pliable, ball-like shape when dropped into cold water. So to do this for the fudge, keep a small bowl of cold water nearby, and test for soft-ball stage by pouring a small amount of the mixture into the bowl (maybe 1/4 Tb. worth). If the mixture disperses in the water, it is not ready. Here is a picture and a video of what soft-ball stage looks like (Snot. It looks like snot.). It will probably take about twenty minutes for it to reach this point (depending on your heat setting; I had it on medium high), so be patient; but don't forget to keep stirring fairly regularly, because it will boil over if left unwatched.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions if you don't understand this explanation!

Soft-ball Stage

Tiger Fudge

Ingredients:

1 pkg. vanilla candy coating (can be found in baking aisle, and it's a flat block that breaks into large squares)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3oz choc chip (but I made it 4oz and still thought it could have used more)

Directions:

• Melt candy coating on stove and stir in peanut butter.
• Pour mixture into 8x8 ungreased pan.
• Melt chocolate chips in microwave (15 secs at a time with stirring in-between) and pour the melted chocolate over the mixture in pan.
• Swirl the chocolate through the mixture lightly (so that it's evenly mixed but not combined).
• Let cool!

Vanilla&PB poured

W/ Chocolate poured on top

W/ Chocolate swirled

Yummy Time!