Everyone loves fudge, but who has the time to stand over the stove? Not me. Oh, this really is yummy, rich fudge. The fake-out is that it only looks like you took all afternoon to make it–when in fact, you were only toiling over a hot stove for under five minutes.
Ingredients:
- Butter (unsalted and only enough to grease the pan)
- One 12-ounce bag of semisweet chocolate chips
- One 12-ounce bag of any other morsel (I use butterscotch)
- One 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- One teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- (8-ounces of walnuts to mix in if you like nutty fudge)
How to:
1. Grease an 8-inch square pan well with the butter. (I actually use a disposable tin pan because I can trim down the sides before cutting the fudge to make it easier to get nice perfectly square pieces. Plus, no pan to wash. This recipe is for the lazy gourmet, remember?)
2. In a medium pot, dump in both bags of chips/morsels, the can of condensed milk and the vanilla (and walnuts if you want them). Set it on the burner on low and stir. The chips will melt in about 4 minutes. When smooth and blended, pour the fudge into the pan. The fudge is thick and sets up almost right away, so be sure to spread it smooth.
(Note: This fudge is great plain, but to make it a bit more festive, I hit it with four toppings. Any topping that would taste great on ice cream will work, but I go for four standby toppings: crushed candy canes and Heath bars, pecans and sweetened cocoa. Prepare your toppings first. You won’t have time once the fudge hits the pan.)
3. Working quickly (you only have about a minute here) add your toppings–each topping covering one-quarter of the pan. Pat down gently to make sure it adheres to the fudge. Cover and pop it in the fridge. Once it is cool, cut into the one-inch squares. The fudge is rich, so you don’t want to make the pieces too big. Store in airtight container in the fridge.
