- ¼ cup butter
- 4½ cups sugar, extra-fine granulated
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 11½ ounces milk chocolate chips
- 13-14 ounces marshmallow creme
- 2 cups nuts, chopped (walnuts, pecans or almonds)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon imitation butter flavor
Line a 13-inch x 9-inch pan with aluminum foil, butter the insides, and set aside. Place chips, vanilla and butter flavor, about half the marshmallow creme, and nuts into a 4-quart saucepan or Pyrex glass dish and set aside.
In another 4-quart (or larger) saucepan, use medium heat to bring the milk and sugar to a rolling boil while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or single stem hand mixer. Add butter and remaining marshmallow creme—fold in—the boil will stop. Bring back to a rolling boil and continue to boil for 8 full minutes by the clock (start timing once the boil has resumed). The mixture will expand and start to turn brown during the boil. If you get brown flakes in the mixture then turn down the heat a little and continue stirring.
Remove from heat and pour hot mixture over chips, marshmallow, flavorings, and nuts without scraping the sides of the hot saucepan. Mix thoroughly and pour into prepared pan. Cool 2-3 hours at room temperature. Remove from pan, remove foil, cut into squares. Store in an airtight container with wax paper dividers for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 5 pounds of fudge.
- This recipe is simple to make, sets up nicely without refrigeration, and has an excellent taste and texture. Don’t be surprised if your friends tell you this is the best fudge they’ve ever had in their life.
- The stuff grows. After adding the marshmallow creme and butter to the hot sugar solution, the volume will expand to almost twice the original volume. So use a sufficiently large saucepan. As the boil continues, the volume will begin to contract. Stirring is important to help distribute the heat and prevent scorching.
- Remember to only add half the marshmallow creme to the hot mixture. Splitting the amount helps keep the texture creamy. However, if you want to add all the marshmallow creme to the hot mixture it will still work fine.
- If you don’t have access to milk chocolate chips then you may use 24 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips—though it has a stronger chocolate taste. You can also use 24 ounces of white chips for an excellent vanilla fudge.
- You may cut the recipe in half (using exactly ½ the amount of everything) but the boil time must be reduced to 5 full minutes by the clock. I would also recommend a 9-inch x 9-inch pan. You can also substitute 5 ounces of evaporated milk (one small can) for 6 ounces (half a large can).
- Endure to the end. This is a much more liquid mix (more ‘soupy’) than other fudge recipes and you might get discouraged midway. Keep going. I’ve nearly given up several times only to have it set extremely well once cast into the pan.
- Don’t panic! If you use a candy thermometer, the temperature will not reach the normal 232-236°F found in other fudge recipes. It will attain something around 220-224°F. Don’t panic! This is a whole different way of making fudge. The mixture will set once cast.
