One of my favorite parts of the holidays is all of the baking that happens. I love the chance to bake something slightly different and festive, and then share all the goodies with friends and family.
I have extremely fond memories as a child baking cookies, buying specialty treats and chocolates, and arranging a few of each on tin round plates. We’d wrap the cookie trays up with clear wrapping plastic and tie them off with a bow and deliver them to teachers and neighbors.
It always felt so festive, and was just overall a ton of fun. It became a traditional that everyone looked forward to, even the gift receivers!
I wanted to create a fun mini version of this tradition, to make it more manageable for this crazy year that has turned everything on its head. I landed on homemade fudge, because it only requires 3 base ingredients, and can be customized using whatever treats you have on hand.
I’ve decided to make chocolate peanut butter fudge, my childhood favorite, but you could make anything you love! Rocky road, pecan, maple, you name it! Just add mix-ins or flavor a simple fudge using extracts.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Ingredients
- 24.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 15 oz Reese’s peanut butter chips
- 28 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 8 tbsp salted butter, divided
- 1 tbsp milk, optional as needed
Instructions
- In a medium sized heavy bottom pot, melt chocolate chips, 1.5 jars (or 21 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, and 5 tablespoons butter. Stir with a wooden spoon constantly until melted.
- In a small sized heavy bottom pot, melt peanut butter chips, remaining .5 jar (or 7 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Stir with a wooden spoon constantly until melted.
- Switch to a whisk and whisk each mixture separately until bubbly and smooth. Add a splash of milk if needed to thin out any lumps. Cook down for about 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture gets thick and fudgy.
- Spray a Nordic Ware Embossed half-sheet pan with Baker’s Joy. Pour first the chocolate fudge, using a spatula to smooth and evenly distribute. Plop the melted peanut butter fudge into 6 quadrants. Use a skewer or chop stick to swirl the peanut butter fudge over top of the chocolate fudge.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours. Once it’s set, remove from the fridge and cut into 1” squares.
- Fill a Sophistiplate paper baking dish with fudge and wrap it closed using a bow and plastic or cellophane wrap. Drop off a bundle to friends, family, teachers, or neighbors and enjoy!
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
Melting.
Use a heavy bottom pot to avoid burning the chocolate chips as they melt. Stir and whisk vigorously to help prevent burning, and to keep fudge silky smooth. Add a tiny bit of milk or more butter if needed to help thing and smooth the fudge as it melts.
Butter.
I call for salted butter in the recipe, but if you use unsalted, please add a pinch (1/4 tsp.) to each fudge mixture to help cut the sweetness.
Festive pan.
I used the Nordic ware embossed tree sheet pan to get a fun pattern. This is the easiest way to get some fun shapes on your fudge, but feel free to use a cookie press or pattern rolling pin.
Cooling.
Make sure the fudge has cooled completely in the center before cutting into it, to maintain the fudge’s form.
Dairy-Free alternative.
Feel free to use sweetened condensed coconut milk and dairy-free chips.
