Chocolate Fudge Makes People Happy

That's what I would call an ultimate truism.

Not every person, of course. There are always a few holdouts or folks who just are a little bit off the beaten path, but for the most part, chocolate fudge makes folks happy. I will stand by that assertion.

The holiday fun has begun in earnest around here. With two big families, we have several fun gigs over the holiday season and that's a wonderful thing. So for this fudge I use the recipe on the back of the 16 oz. Marshmallow Fluff container. It makes a monster-sized batch so then I can freeze both kinds, with and without nuts, in freezer containers and grab out one container for each party. Total bonus!


HERE'S THE LINK TO THEIR RECIPE

 Because this is a double recipe, I prepped my big 15" x 11" Pyrex pan. It works great for a doubled fudge recipe. Butter the pan. Then double-layer heavy duty aluminum foil over the pan, pressing into the pan. Then butter the foil. Set aside to use when fudge is ready.

And here are my adjustments because I doubled it:

1 16 oz. jar of Marshmallow Fluff
1 full can evaporated milk (13 oz.)
1/2 cup butter
5 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt

Put all of this into large 4 or 5 quart heavy duty pan. Stir over low heat until blended. Then raise to medium/medium-high heat and cook to boiling, stirring constantly. (This will be well worth it. Scout's honor) I used the "soft ball" test to get to the temp I wanted which is about 4 minutes into boiling. To do the soft ball test, you have a coffee cup half-full of really cold water and you drizzle a dollop of the fudge mix into the water. If you can then reach in and form the mixture into a "soft ball" with your fingers (it will flatten when you pull it out of the water), that's where you want to be.

Remove from heat. Stir in 24 oz. (two full bags) of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Stir well.

Now I like to stir it until it begins to lose it's gloss and set up slightly. You can just pour it into the pans, but there's a slight difference in consistency that comes from hand-stirring cool air into cooling fudge.

I put a hot pad under one end of the pan to tip it slightly, then poured half the fudge into the lower half of the pan. 

Then I added a cup of chopped walnuts to the rest and added that to the pan.

Let cool completely. Then lift the fudge out of pan by using the aluminum foil, move to cutting board and cut into pieces with a nice sharp knife.

I love this fudge. It melts in your mouth and makes your mouth really happy while doing so. I've tried other variations on this recipe, but this is my fave.

And we had the Herne Family Christmas Gathering here at the farm this weekend, and it was so much fun! So many of the grandkids and great-grandkids (not mine, my parents) were here with their little ones. It was awesome!

Santa came....

And we had some tears when we took up my mother's tradition of reading Luke's Gospel telling of the baby's birth...

But plenty of laughter, too.

Great food, and I had some overnight helpers! So that made it extra fun!!!

These two weren't overnight, but they came along in time to drizzle almond and apple strudel:

And then to test the frosting was crucial:

And two party princesses:

Then joined by a more queen-type figure!

We had a wonderful time. A blessed time. A hot chocolate station... a coffee station... Punch! A family favorite. And everyone brings something to share around the tables and that made it all so very special.

Merry Christmas from the Herne/Blodgett house... and may God bless us, every one!

"For unto us a child is born... Unto us a Son is given..."

#soveryblessed

Multi-published, award-winning inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne is blessed to be writing the kind of stories she likes to read. Tucked into a farm in Western New York where if you don't mow it, a forest will grow, Ruthy loves God, her family, her country, dogs, chocolate and coffee. She is especially fond of small children and tender hearts even though she's proud to be thought of as a curmudgeon. Those that really know her say yes... she is, in fact, a curmudgeon! But that tough exterior hides a tender heart. Email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com find her on facebook or you can follow her on Twitter, but she really doesn't like Twitter at all. It is just packed with annoying people. You can also visit her non-annoying website ruthloganherne.com!