Never Fail Fudge

I’m sure everybody has that old family recipe that they can call “never fail”…it comes out perfect every time, no matter what…and in our family, that recipe is FUDGE.

Smooth, luscious, chocolate-y wonderfulness. My brother could whip fudge up in less than 10 minutes and it was just wonderful.

I, however, could (and did) fail at this recipe constantly, despite the “never fail” moniker. I usually ended up with grainy fudge or–oops–chocolate caramel instead of fudge. Amazing how close those recipes are, by the way.

I spent so long getting this recipe wrong, I actually sat around one day making batch after batch until I got it to come out right.

What can I say? Making perfect fudge is an important skill!

But no more! I have successfully mastered the Never Fail recipe at long last! So here’s the recipe (which, actually, is pretty simple) with my notes on how to truly make it “Never Fail”!

Never Fail Fudge

• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk (about half a can)
• 1 cup mini marshmallows OR 10 large marshmallows, cut up

Bring to boil. Turn heat to medium and boil for 7 minutes (ONLY 6 at high altitude). Stir constantly! Remove from heat and add:

• 1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• Optional: 1 C chopped nuts

Stir until smooth and melted; pour into greased pan. Refrigerate until firm.

Some tips I’ve learned from trial and awful error over the years:

• Use ONLY Nestle. I’m sure another name brand would work. But definitely not a cheapie brand; it always turns out terribly.
• I start the cooking time as soon as the edges are boiling. I’ve found if I wait longer it gets grainy.
• The minutes are very important! In Southern California, it’s definitely 7 minutes of boiling; the fudge gets grainy if it’s cooked that long here in Utah. You may need to make two batches so you can mess up the first one if you aren’t sure which one will work best (wink, wink).

Like I mentioned in my last post, we usually make fudge right after making food storage enchiladas because both recipes only call for half a can of evaporated milk–waste not, want not!

I don’t let my kids help with this one too much yet (like I do with other easy recipes), mostly because it’s so much stirring over a very hot stove and I am picky about my fudge coming out right, but honestly, they could probably help with putting in ingredients, greasing the pan, and even the stirring if you’re brave enough!

Enjoy your fudge! Have a happy day!