Fabulous Fudge!

Fudge is a delicious holiday treat that is easy to make and requires limited ingredients and skills to prepare. Moreover, it makes great gifts for family and friends. Let the holiday memories & yumminess begin!

But first, what is fudge? Why it’s a creamy candy, of course, made with rich ingredients such as butter, sugar, milk, and chocolate. An assortment of special ingredients can be added to make it special, such as crunchy nuts, extra flavored chips, shredded coconut, gooey marshmallows, colorful sprinkles, and more! And fudge can be made in a variety of flavors such as mint chocolate, maple, peanut butter, dark, light, or white chocolate, etc. What’s not to love?

Basic Chocolate Fudge:

• 2 cups* (or a 12 oz. bag) of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli chocolate recommended) *One cup of chips equals 6 oz.
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the baking dish
• ¼ tsp. finely ground sea salt
• ¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ¾ to 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts such as walnuts or almonds (nuts are optional)

Directions:

Line an 8 x 8” baking dish with foil, lightly grease the foil with butter and set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir together the chocolate chips, condensed milk, butter, and sea salt. Cook and stir well constantly over low heat until the chip pieces are melted. This may take some time but do not speed up the process by turning up the heat as that may scorch the chocolate. Once melted, glossy, and nicely combined, remove from heat, stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour fudge mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly with a spatula. Place in fridge and chill for a few hours until set. Lift from pan and cut in squares. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.