Peanut Butter Fudge
1 c Margarine
5 c Sugar
1 can Evaporated Milk
3 lb Peanut Butter
28 oz Marshmallow Cream
Place peanut butter and marshmallow cream in large mixing vessel, set aside. Combine sugar, margarine and milk in medium-large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil. Boil for exactly 9 minutes. Pour boiling syrup over peanut butter mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into very large pan (2 9×13″ pans work well) that has been lined with wax paper.
Chocolate Fudge
1 c Margarine
5 c Sugar
1 can Evaporated Milk
21 oz Marshmallow Cream
12 oz Chocolate Chips
Place marshmallow cream and chocolate chips in large kettle, set aside. Place margarine, sugar and milk in medium-large saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil for exactly ten minutes. Pour boiling syrup over chocolate and beat until smooth. Pour into a large pan (2 9×13″ pans work well) that has been lined with waxed paper.
Notes:
- If you are beating the fudge by hand, beat it until your arm feels like it is gonna fall off … then beat it some more.
- As written, this chocolate fudge recipe will set up very soft. My notes from the last time I made it suggested that 14 ounces of Marshmallow Cream seemed to be about right – and that a high quality chocolate should be used.
- My grandmother always used PET brand evaporated milk.
- “Back in the day” the margarine that was used was generic A&P margarine. After A&P went away, Kroger had a “Churned Gold” margarine that was a very good substitute. Both of these have gone away and I now just use butter. The butter seems to offer a “cleaner” flavor to the fudge than the margarine, but it certainly doesn’t “taste like grandmother’s.” I use Plugra salted butter.
- When my grandmother measured the sugar for these recipes, she used a Pyrex liquid measure and the sugar was heaped into the cup. It comes out to roughly seven cups or 1700 grams of sugar.
- Since the large jar of JIF peanut butter is 2.5lbs, I usually just use the whole jar and don’t worry about the extra half pound.
- Some day I plan to try making the peanut butter using JIF’s extra crunchy peanut butter – and probably throwing peanuts on top for garnish.
- While these recipes are based on time for the cooking of the syrup, if you aim for firm-ball stage at 246 degrees Fahrenheit, you should be good.