Saturday, August 18, 2012

Meg's Allegany Maple Fudge from Small-Town Hearts

Okay, peeps, I'm tied up this weekend so I'm bringing you one of my all-time faves.

Yes, this is another shameless plug for a very nice book about chocolate, romance, small towns and life...

And how it all comes together with God's perfect timing!

So enjoy this recipe, featured in "Small-Town Hearts", available for e-readers....

This is a picture of SMALL-TOWN HEARTS
YOU CAN BUY IT FOR YOUR KINDLE
HERE!


And also as a print copy here at Christian Book Distributors:

Click this for "christianbook.com"

I love that Christian Books keeps my books in stock even a year after they've been released. This company is a true supporter of Christian fiction and I try to order from them any time I can!


Now, if you've got the book, you've got the recipe already. It's in the back, and it's wonderful. I'm not braggin'... I'm just sayin'!  ;) The book is really SWEET, too. Just FYI.

And my buddy and a great friend of Seekerville VINCE MOONEY makes this fudge... and loves it. He evern brought some to share when I was in Tulsa in October for Tina Radcliffe's and Mary Connealy's book signing.

HOW COOL IS THAT?????

But if you need a reminder of this fudge's excellence, this is it. Right here. Today. And a pictorial. Which they DID NOT ASK FOR IN THE BOOK.
And this recipe is easy.... Yummy.... Sweet.... and it's Maple, so it makes this Yank happy.
These are crucial things. But we know that, right?

So here's what you need:

And here's the recipe:

Meg’s Allegany Maple Fudge

2 cups packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup real maple syrup (Meg prefers “dark amber” for richer flavor)
1 cup butter (do not, I repeat, do not use margarine. Really. Truly.)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup walnuts or pecans
½ teaspoon vanilla

Butter a 9 x 13” pan, then line the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil for ease in cutting.



Combine sugar, butter, milk and maple syrup in a medium saucepan. 


Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat slightly and boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Overcooking toughens the consistency of the fudge, so watch the clock or set a timer and don’t think you can walk away and do laundry or answer the phone, because my experience tells me that tiny duties inevitably stretch into elongated ones and so I often burn the first batch.

You’d think I’d learn after a while, wouldn’t you?

Remove from heat, add powdered sugar and vanilla. A teaspoon of maple flavoring may be added at this time, but isn’t really necessary.


Beat by hand (this is a pre-emptive strike against high calorie intake because this fudge is irresistible and any exercise you can get ahead of time keeps you ahead of the game.) or with hand mixer until thick and glossy. Mix in walnuts and pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set.

DO YOU SEE THIS???? JON IS INFILTRATING THE FUDGE WITH AN ACCOMPLICE...AND THEY'RE BOTH SMILING. WELL, OF COURSE THEY ARE!  ;)

To cut:  Slide foil out of greased pan, place on countertop or suitable cutting board and use sharp, thin-bladed knife or a fudge/brownie cutter. 



Store in airtight container.

This fudge freezes well, keeps in refrigerator well.

36 comments:

  1. I had some of that wonderful fudge Vince made in Tulsa. I thought he used pecans...

    I would since I don't like walnuts.

    At any rate, it is so, so good.

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  2. I forgot to mention the butter. The butter is a star flavor in this fudge. I'm no great cook, but one taste of that stuff will tell you not to skimp on the butter.

    Mmmm...butter....

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  3. Andrea, you made me laugh... We are the same way and if I could pick a cooking sister it would be Paula Deen... Oh my stars.... butter... cream... lavish.

    PERFECT!

    You can use any nut in this recipe. Vince might have used pecans, and they're lovely with maple. I also make it without nuts for my non-nut-loving Yanks.

    Pshaw.

    Where did they spawn from????? ;)

    Vince will love that you loved it!

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  4. Wow! I have a sudden craving for sweet! Gee, thanks, Ruthy. :)

    Would you believe I've never made fudge? NEVER. Now I'm determined. I'll have to remember to photo it and share.

    Now, I'm really trying to figure out when the Pretzel Stix go in. ;)

    Haha. Had to tease you, Ruthy. Great idea for storage!

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  5. Hey, this just reminded me that yesterday I printed a recipe for fudge (from the Harlequin online holiday party) that uses marshmallow cream. Have you ever made that recipe? Is it as good?

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  6. Oh, Missy, yes. It's beyond wonderful. I give fudge for gifts and I get totally psyched when
    I see a sign for "fresh fudge"...Oh my stars, that's a natural high! And the pretzel jugs...we used to have those stinking gray moths that wriggle their way into pastas, grains cereal, etc. The plastic screw-on jugs foiled the little buggers!

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  7. I already make too much fudge every year (although my family always says it isn't nearly enough), but I'll have to add this one to the mix! I love maple and nuts and butter...

    And yes, Missy, I use marshmallow cream in my fudge. It gives it a smooth texture without having to beat it too much...

    I made fudge last weekend, and it's already nearly gone. And that batch was supposed to go to the kids we left in Kansas (not little kids, adult kids). I had planned to ship the box today, but is it really worth shipping five measly pieces of fudge? I think more baking is in order...

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  8. Hi Ruth:

    Andrea is right. I used pecans the second time I made the fudge. That’s the fudge I made for your visit. My Oklahoma family likes pecans much better than walnuts. So the next time I made the fudge I used pecans. People have pecan trees in the backyards here! (I like walnuts better myself.)

    That Maple Fudge was the first fudge I ever made and it came out perfect. My wife was totally skeptical because her family never gets fudge right and they have stopped making it! (I’m not kidding. The last fudge they made turned immediately into a mouthful of sugar granules when you ate it!!!)

    I’m more a chemist than a cook. So I did everything exactly as the recipe called for. I mean to the second. (I also did the ‘softball’ test just to confirm the recipe. Like Reagan: I trust but I verify!)

    Just be sure to use real maple syrup and real butter. My maple syrup came in a little jug just like in Ruth’s picture.

    Now I just want to know when we are going to get some more recipes in future books. I mean, Callie could have made some great Christmas fudge to express her feminine side. (Hint) : )

    Vince

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  9. Vince, I've always told my children that baking and candy making are more chemistry than art! It's the chemical reaction that makes the recipe work, so it has to be exact.

    And PECANS! When we lived in West Texas the children and I would pick them up by the grocery bags full in the alley behind our house...and last weekend I saw little puny bags of unshelled pecans for sale for $5.00 each. Location makes all the difference.

    My dear husband was a judge at a baking/candy making contest this week...and he was sorely disappointed. He said that on a scale of 1-10, he wasn't able to give anything a score higher than a 5. I think those aspiring bakers need to stop by the cafe for some hints!

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  10. LOL, Jan! I guess you do need to make more. :)

    Hey, Vince!! So glad you stopped by!

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  11. Vince, you're right. I'll ask Melissa about making it a tradition. And we're talking about next year's books now, so maybe we can incorporate a great bunch of recipes in there. I do have some over at www.ruthloganherne.com and at www.ruthysplace.com but the fun thing about Yankee Belle Cafe is that Missy and I can throw a bunch of stuff out there from our kitchens and so many others, and it's like... well... sittin' a spell on Missy's porch or comin' for coffee by my place.

    Perfect!

    I love that you chose that fudge as your first attempt. Some of the old recipes (the Hershey's fudge recipe that I know by heart) are a little trickier to time... This one thickens perfectly with the powdered sugar, so that was a great find! I can't remember where I got the original recipe. I changed it and made it mine, but the powdered sugar, butter, maple...

    Oh my stars, perfect!

    And I had pecan banana praline pancakes at Shoney's last Sunday... in Nashville. MY FIRST VISIT TO SHONEY'S!!! YAYAYAYAY!

    They were awesome. :)

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  12. Ruthy, I just noticed the last line of the recipe:

    "This fudge freezes well, keeps in refrigerator well."

    This could be one reason why fudge disappears so quickly at our house - I've never tried to hide it in either one of those places...

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  13. Ruthy, I love Shoney's. I grew up near them, and they used to be near us here in Georgia. But now I never see one.

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  14. Georgia without Shoney's????

    Say it ain't so, Missy!!! You call yourselves Southerners? Oh my stars. I'm... well... shocked is the best way to describe my feelings right now.

    ;)

    Jan, that's the difference in having the kids raised... and underfoot. I can freeze fudge for the holidsys and that's a wonderful thing. I had "Grandma Mary" talk about that in Small-town Hearts because candy usually freezes well. And her fudge gifts for Christmas? A Ruthy-thing, so there's a little of me in Grandma Mary! :)

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  15. This fudge sounds wonderful! thanks so much for sharing the recipe - and I love..Love Inspired books "Small town Hearts" looks like a great book!

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  16. Melissa... it is a wonderful book. It's got a great, spunky heroine who owns her own little candy store... And a hero who owns the East Coast version of "See's Chocolates"... And he needs to build a store in her area.

    Oops.

    I'm so glad you stopped by!

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  17. Missy~

    My mom makes fudge with marshmallow creme. The only recipe I think she's ever made, as far as I can remember. I loved it when I was a kid, and we all loved to help Mom make it. But it's too sweet for me now.

    Instead I make peanut brittle every year, which I do not eat (well, not much anyhow). My dad loves it. I give it to him in the same tin every year. The first time he gave it back to me, I said, "Dad, that was for you to keep." He said, "No, I want you to fill it up again." So now every year, in January or February, he returns the tin, and I hold onto it until Christmas comes around again.

    I also make candy for my mom, older sister, and brother. It takes a lot of stress out of Christmas shopping.

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  18. Vince made this and brought it to the Tulsa book signing. It was well, okay and I only ate six pieces. Okay, possibly EIGHT. Seriously this is dangerous stuff.

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  19. Andrea, that's a great idea! You've created a tradition. :)

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  20. I love traditions like that, Andrea. And that was why I used them as a basis for Small-town Hearts candymaker "Grandma Mary". Those simple gifts. Ah... I treasure them!

    Tina, you stopped at seven. When I tackled you to the floor to save you from yourself. And my friend Lisa brought a NEW RECIPE for me to try yesterday...

    A cookie "bar"....

    With a hint of Kosher salt....

    Oh. Oh. Oh. Tina brought Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt on our Tulsa trip. That hint of salt is what makes me love chocolate covered pretzels. To die for.

    Now... yes... I might be obsessed.

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  21. Tina~ I only got two pieces of that fudge. I think that's because it left the bookstore in y'all's Impala and not mine...which is probably for the best. I might have eaten the whole pan if it was in my car.

    As it was, I rode home with the rest of Carol's chocolate chip cookies. So I suppose I didn't suffer too much.

    Missy~ It's a fun tradition, and it takes some of the stress out of shopping. Also, the peanut brittle recipe I make was my husband's grandmother's. No one in the family really eats brittle much, so this is a neat way to keep it alive.

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  22. I still have NOT made fudge! I've got to try this.

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  23. I loved this book so much that after I read it, I went back through and 'plotted' it in short hand so I could have a visual of how the story went. Then I used it for pacing when I wrote my Li book.

    Is that bad?? I hope not. But I hate knowing where everything is going in a plot. And you kept it fresh. Surprising. INTERESTING. And we don't want anyone to fall asleep while reading our books now.

    As for the fudge, I've tried it twice and it just doesn't work for me. It never firms up. That doesn't mean we don't eat it. Waiting for cool weather to try again!

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  24. P.S. I was thinking the same thing about the Pretzel sticks!

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    Replies
    1. Virginia, I think that's smart to study books that way! Especially if you're targeting the publisher. Looks like you got the plotting down pat! :)

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    2. Missy, I almost deleted that comment. I mean, how creepy!

      But when (if) you all read the Season of Joy, you can make sure it looks nothing like Small Town Hearts. It was that elusive crafty craft I was heading for...

      And yes, you guys are my textbooks for LI. :D Love a House Full of Hope!! It gave me so many ideas... Hmmmm....

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    3. I don't think it's creepy, Virginia...I did the same thing with Yuletide Hearts!

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  25. Not creepy in my opinion. Just a good way to learn. :)

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  26. I have tried fudge and it was a disaster. Jillian Hart has a no fail one and it actually worked although it is so rich.
    Could this one be made without nuts. I dont eat nuts.
    Also how much is a cup of butter.

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  27. Another fudge fan! I am like you Ruthy, I will go out of my way to get to fresh fudge. I don't make it, but this seems doable and I may have to try it. It seems close to my favorite kind, penuche, which you don't see too often as a flavor.

    Thanks for the post!

    Piper

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  28. Piper, my mom brought me some penuche one year and I'd never heard of it. YUMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY.

    That stuff is amazing!

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  29. I know, I don't know why it isn't more popular....maybe more for us penuche fans when we find it! That's why I would love to take a trip up to Mackinac Island one day. it has that spectacular hotel from Somewhere in Time, but it is also the fudge capital of the U.S. One former source for penuche told me that serious fudge makers go there to exchange recipes, etc. every summer and that there is a very high percentage of fudge shops there. I am glad that Ruthy posted this so that I can have fudge until I can afford to go to Michigan!

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    Replies
    1. Oh Piper, Mackinac Island fudge is the best! It deserves its reputation...

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  30. Someday Jan,...maybe when my book is published.......:-)

    Piper

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  31. Ruthy, for some reason I never read that book. So I'm going to fix that by heading straight on over to amazon and downloading it to my Kindle. Can't wait!

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