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I have always loved the Christmas season. When I was a kid, it meant opening presents at home with my parents then heading 30 or so miles away to my favorite Aunt and Uncle’s home. Each year, my aunt would make her “famous” chicken and noodles and my uncle would make his homemade fudge recipes. I may be partial, but I swear he made the best peanut butter fudge recipe I have ever tasted.
It has been a few years since I’ve been able to visit them on Christmas and he has gotten older and no longer makes his fudge recipes, but those memories are some of my favorites.
Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
This easy peanut butter fudge is one of the ones he used to make. Is it the same recipe?
I’m not sure, but it sure tastes like my childhood.
Aside from the taste of Stacy’s childhood (lol), it’s the best peanut butter fudge I have ever tasted! It’s sweet without being overpowering, creamy and full of that peanut buttery goodness that PB lovers enjoy.
Since I am diabetic, I had to change how I made my own peanut butter fudge since my diagnosis. Luckily, Splenda works amazing in this recipe! Simply substitute the sugars for the Splenda version and follow the recipe as stated.
If you’ve never made homemade fudge before, you will need to work pretty quickly once things get rolling.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to have your ingredients pre-measured and everything ready to go before you begin.
Start by either greasing a 9×13 baking dish with butter or lining it with wax/parchment paper. Wax paper is easiest since there is zero chance of your fudge sticking to it.
In a large saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine both sugars, cocoa and milk.
Heat over medium heat – making sure to stir constantly – until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage and reads 238°F on the candy thermometer.
Keep in mind that the mixture will scorch very easily. Stirring constantly is the only way to really prevent that.
Remove mixture from heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Once the mixture is removed from the heat, it will begin to harden almost immediately.
Stir the mixture until the peanut butter and butter are melted and all three ingredients are mixed in well.
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If you’re adding extra peanuts, add them at the same time. Fold the mixture over itself a couple of times to be sure the nuts get fully incorporated.
Pour into the 9 x 13″ baking dish and use the back of the spoon to smooth the mixture out.
Cool completely, remove from the baking dish and cut into squares. Again, wax or parchment paper makes removing it very easy.
If you did not use a paper liner, set the bottom of the baking dish in lukewarm water for a few seconds to soften the bottom then flip the entire dish onto a cutting board to remove.
Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
If you need an easy candy recipe, stop looking! Simple to make and packed with a delicious combo of flavors, this easy peanut butter fudge recipe is sure to go into your tried and true recipe file!
1 ½ c Granulated Sugar
1 ½ c Light Brown Sugar (Packed )
½ c Milk
1 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 c Peanut Butter (Creamy or Crunchy )
½ c Real Butter
1 tsp Real Vanilla
Grease a 9×13″ baking dish with butter or line with wax paper.
In a large saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine both sugars, brown sugar, cocoa and milk.
Heat over medium heat until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage at 238° F stirring constantly.
Remove mixture from heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter, butter and vanilla.
Stir until the peanut butter, butter and peanuts if using are melted and well blended.
Pour into the 9 x 13″ baking dish and smooth the mixture using the spoon.
Monitor the Temperature with a Candy Thermometer. If you end up with soft fudge that turns into a puddle in your hands or hard fudge that is a bit reminiscent of a crunchy candy, improper temperature is likely to blame. ...
Avoid Stirring Once the Mixture Comes to a Simmer. ...
It's important to beat the fudge ingredients to develop the right texture, but you won't get smooth, creamy fudge if you beat it when it's too hot. Beating fudge when it's still over heat creates sugar crystals, aka the grittiness you feel in the fudge.
If there is too much evaporation, when the cooking time is too long, there will not be enough water left in the fudge and it will be too hard. Conversely, if the cooking time is too brief and there is not enough evaporation, too much water will remain and the fudge will be too soft.
Butter: This peanut butter fudge starts with a stick of butter. Sugars: You'll need brown sugar and confectioners' sugar. Milk: Milk adds moisture and thins the mixture slightly. Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the fudge.
Use Evaporated Milk- Make sure to use evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk. If you accidentally use sweetened condensed milk your fudge will be incredibly over the top sweet. Cut up the Butter– Before adding the butter in make sure to cut it into smaller pieces for faster melting.
A lot of big crystals in fudge makes it grainy. By letting the fudge cool without stirring, you avoid creating seed crystals. Stirring would help sucrose molecules "find" one another and start forming crystals.
Humidity can cause fudge to boil over in the pan or stay soft when set, so try to avoid working on humid days if at all possible. If waiting for a less humid day isn't feasible, you'll need to boil your fudge at a slightly higher temperature than usual — or just order some delicious fudge from Wockenfuss!
Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil, do not stir it. If you do, the sugar can crystallize, giving your fudge a gritty texture. As you beat the fudge, pay attention to color and texture. Once the fudge loses its sheen and thickens, put down your spoon.
You can easily substitute crunchy peanut butter for creamy peanut butter in any recipe without any trouble. There are also many other ways to use crunchy peanut butter, including: Chocolate and peanut butter cookies. Put a few spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter in ice cream or oatmeal.
OPTION 1) Depending on how runny it is, you can either use it as a frosting for cakes, or a sauce for ice-cream. OPTION 2) Freeze it overnight. Cut it into squares. Cover each square thickly in melted chocolate, ensuring no part of the fudge is exposed.
If the fudge is very soft and slightly chewy then it is possible that it did not quite cook to soft ball stage and next time the mixture should be cooked to a slightly higher temperature (soft ball is 112-116c/235-240F and a sugar or candy thermometer can help).
How do you fix fudge that is too soft? Bring the fudge back to a boil with 1–2 US tbsp (15–30 ml) of cream. If your fudge is soft or runny, it probably didn't come up to a high enough temperature while it was cooking. Put it back into the saucepan and add 1–2 US tbsp (15–30 ml) of 35% fat whipping cream.
Coarse grainy fudge results when large crystals are allowed to form. Butter is added in the final stages to add flavor and smoothness and inhibit large crystal formation. Use unsalted butter so you can add a small amount of salt (¼ teaspoon per stick of butter) to the sugar/liquid mixture.
Amish Peanut Butter is a decadent spread that is delicious on freshly baked bread, pancakes, crackers, pretzels, ice cream, apples or any other dippable snack or fruit. It's most commonly made from mixing together creamy peanut butter, marshmallow cream and Karo syrup.
If it doesn't boil, your fudge will end up too mushy, and if it cooks for too long, you'll end up with a dry, crumbly mess. This is why many recipes recommend using a candy thermometer, so you know exactly when to remove your mixture from the heat.
You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).
Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!
So, the key to smooth yet firm fudge, pralines, and fondant is to first bring the mixture to a high enough concentration and then let it cool off somewhat before starting to stir. And once you do start to stir, stir fanatically and without stopping for the finest, creamiest texture.
If your fudge doesn't firm up after a few hours, you either have too high an amount of liquid to sugar, or your mixture hasn't reached the soft-ball stage. Using a candy thermometer can help home cooks avoid this problem.
Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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