Peanut butter fudge

Today I made my second batch of peanut butter fudge for this holiday season. Homemade fudge was a family tradition when I was growing up. As an adult, I may tend to shy away from chocolate fudges (I like them well enough; but simply prefer not to make them); but I do like to make peanut butter fudge. Where I live, this is not a very common sort of treat, as peanut butter is usually associated here with Chinese dishes. However, I have yet to meet someone who has tried my peanut butter fudge and not liked it :-)

I thought about it today, while making the fudge and listening to the “Christmas Songs” album from Bad Religion, and decided that I would share my recipe. As it is, I rarely keep very much of what I make for myself, preferring to give it away; so, since I can’t comment someone a piece of fudge, I thought I’d pass the cheer along this way :-) What I’m using is not my family’s traditional recipe … my mother passed away sometime ago, and in the ensuing chaos after her death, many of her recipes were lost. When I decided to start making the fudge, I had my own childhood memories to go by, along with a cobbled-together mix of recipes from the Internet that, in the end, result in a fudge that tastes exactly like what I grew up with, even if it may not be the exact same recipe. It’s an easy enough recipe, even if you do not care to pre-measure everything the way I do (I do this simply because I don’t like to have things burning while I try to spoon out the last bits of marshmallow creme or peanut butter).

Peanut butter fudge:

Preparation: ca. 10 Minutes
Cooking: ca. 5-10 Minutes
Ready to eat in ca. 90 Minutes (but tastes much better when served cold)

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup milk (reduced fat works here just fine)
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1 jar (7 oz.) Marshmallow Creme

1 brownie form (ca. 8″ x 8″)
1 sheet of baking paper

Preparation:

Before I begin ….

I pre-measure all ingredients and place them in their own bowls before beginning to cook. The powdered sugar should go into a relatively large bowl, as it will eventually hold all the ingredients. A lot of people make a big fuss about de-clumping the powdered sugar; but I’m not a big believer in uniform tastes, and my experience has been that the overall taste of the fudge is not at all affected by a few clumps of sugar :-)  Finally, it’s a good idea to line the brownie form with the sheet of baking paper and set it to the side.

On to the main event! …

In a large pan or skillet, on medium heat, melt the butter completely. Add brown sugar and milk, then lightly (but constantly) stir until it starts to bubble. At this point, continue to stir for two minutes.

After two minutes of stirring, turn off the heat under the pan, and add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and marshmallow creme. I usually prefer to add the marshmallow creme first, to give it a little more time to melt down. Stir until everything is well mixed.

When you are satisfied that everything is mixed together pretty well, pour it all into your large bowl with powdered sugar and continue to mix until everything looks creamy. I have never used an electric mixer for this, preferring instead a simple wooden spoon; but I don’t see why a little cheating would be a bad thing here ;-)

Either way you achieve a creamy result, it will be time to pour everything from the bowl into the brownie pan. Where I live, I simply cover the pan and set it outside to get cold – not everyone lives in a place where it gets cold enough to do this, so don’t hesitate to use the refrigerator.

Best served cold, to friends, family, and anyone you think might need a reason to smile :-)