The Fudge Recipe

Fudge – Makes five pounds

Combine in large bowl:

½ lb. butter or margarine

3 12-oz pkgs. choc. chips

3 tablespoons vanilla

In large saucepan:

4½ c. sugar

1 can evaporated milk

Cookie sheet pan lined with parchment paper for easy fudge removal.

Turn the heat below the saucepan mixture to medium. Stir the mixture as it heats so that the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has a syrupy quality to it. Bring to a temperature of 245F, which should occur after a nine-minute rolling boil. If you do not have a candy thermometer, begin counting time at beginning of rolling boil and stop at nine minutes. I don’t know why, but stopping after a nine-minute rolling boil always works, often even better than using the thermometer. Make sure to keep stirring the sugar/milk mixture as it heats (this will be about a 20-minute process—I said “an easy recipe,” not “exciting”). Otherwise, some of the sugar will caramelize and burn on the bottom of the pan. Also, use a deep saucepan when you cook the sugar as it will double in volume when it boils. When the boiling is done, pour over ingredients in bowl. Mix thoroughly until the fudge has a smooth and creamy sheen to it. Pour the batter into a cookie sheet pan and allow at least one hour to cool and set. Enjoy!

For added variations:

• 2 cups chopped nuts
• 2 cups maraschino cherries (dried)
• the chips may be semi-sweet chocolate (for dark chocolate fudge), milk chocolate, white chocolate, or peanut butter—all work well for this recipe

Use mint or fruit flavorings such as orange or raspberry extracts (1 tablespoon added to mixture in the bowl) for a wonderful flavor. When using these flavorings, it may be necessary to reduce the amount of vanilla extract by ½ a tablespoon to make sure the vanilla does not overpower whatever flavor you’re adding.