Old Fashioned Homemade Fudge Recipe. This Award Winning Fudge Recipe has been in our family for generations. This fudge recipe won a Division Sweepstakes at the Kansas State Fair and made our NaNa very proud. This Fudge is made with marshmallow fluff and condensed milk.
My mother made batch after batch of this chocolate fudge every single Christmas that I can remember. For box after box of gifts to give to friends, neighbors, school teachers, mail delivery guys, … bus drivers.
And wasn’t it sinfully fun to swipe a taste some of that marshmallow creme while she was making it?
Actually this homemade fudge recipe with marshmallow creme wasn’t the only candy style recipe on the menu for Christmas gifts. There was cinnamon candy, Boston Cream, popcorn balls, divinity … Christmas cooking was full of candy recipes.
Fudge Ingredients
The ingredients are simple and the method is quite easy, let’s take a look.
- Butter: I use unsalted. Butter brings a creamy buttery flavor to the party.
- Sugar: Butter and sugar go hand in hand with almost all baking projects. Granulated is called for in this recipe.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: This recipe calls for Semi-sweet chocolate chips. The common chocolate chip which is lower in cacao and is sweeter than bittersweet chocolate chips. You could also use bittersweet chocolate chips for this recipe, which are higher in cacoa. They are interchangeable with a slightly different flavor profile.
- Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chips: Milk Chocolate Chips are even sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips bring a creamy texture to this fudge recipe.
- Fudge With Evaporated Milk: Don’t confuse evaporated milk with condensed milk. Even though both products are condensed, plain evaporated milk in unsweetened. Sweetened Condensed Milk, is sweetened. If you’re interested in learning more, I like this article from The Kitchn.
- Fudge with Marshmallow Fluff: Or called Marshmallow Creme. It’s simply a confectionary spread that tastes like marshmallows, but with a different texture.
- Vanilla: Vanilla prices have skyrocketed over the last few years. Use the best quality you can, in your price limit range. I like Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla Vanilla Paste. It’s a beautiful product that comes with a pretty price.
- Walnuts: I’ve always used walnuts for this recipe, but you can substitute pecans.
Hard Ball, Soft Ball Stage for Candy
I remember watching her with intent, due to the precision of getting the sugar mixtures at just the right temperatures to make candy recipes work. She’d drop a small teaspoon of the boiling sugar into a glass of cold water. If the sugar formed into just the right ball consistency, the candy was ready to form.
I’ve tried that method and it’s difficult to get just right. And a great skill to know … if you know how to do it. Owning a candy thermometer can be a very valuable tool when it’s time for candy making. And an easier method for precision. Candy thermometers aren’t expensive and a valuable tool to have around the holidays.
Most candy thermometers display the different temperature stages, but if you have one that doesn’t, here’s a list of temps to help you out.
Candy Temperature Chart
- Thread – 230 – 234
- Soft Ball – 234 – 242
- Firm Ball – 243 – 249
- Hard Ball – 250 – 269
- Soft Crack – 270 – 294
- Hard Crack – 295 – 319
- Light Caramel – 320 – 325
- Dark Caramel – 326 – 350
The recipe has been passed down from my great great grandmother, to my grandmother, and to my aunts. Now it’s up to us kids to keep this recipe alive and well. It’s an old fashioned fudge with evaporated milk and marshmallow creme. It’s easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.
My cousin Brooke even entered this Christmas Fudge recipe in the Kansas State Fair when she was 11 years old and ended up winning the Junior Division Sweepstakes.
The recipe was published in “A Century of Good Cooking, Kansas State Fair” cookbook, and she won 30 pounds of sugar. 🙂
So with all of that said here’s that award-winning homemade fudge recipe.
Fudge with Marshmallow Fluff and Condensed Milk
I hope you give this old fashioned fudge recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience.
And if you have a homemade fudge recipe, or a favorite Christmas Candy Recipe let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Award Winning Old Fashioned Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons butter 1 stick
- 4 1/2 cups sugar
- 12 ounces evaporated milk 1 can
- 12 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 12 ounce milk chocolate chips
- 14 ounces marshmallow creme
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Mix butter, sugar and milk in saucepan. Turn heat on high. Continually stir and bring to rolling boil. Continue stirring for about 5 minutes or until it gets to a “soft ball” stage. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla, chocolate chips, and marshmallow creme. Mix until well blended then add nuts. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Cool and cut into squares. I don’t have a candy thermometer, so “soft ball” stage means that when you drop a small amount of the candy liquid into a cold cup of water, it will form into soft ball
Nutrition
Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge Recipe with Condensed Milk …It’s What’s For Christmas
I also like to make this at the Holidays, another family favorite:
Cream Cheese Cherry Christmas Dessert
