'Tis the Season for Christmas Candy Part 3: Festive Fudge!

Let’s end the year on a sweet note! Though fudge may not be the most photogenic food, it sure does taste delicious! When I asked my mom for the fudge recipe that she used, she quickly replied with, “Well I use my mother’s recipe and she used the recipe on the back of the marshmallow creme jar…” While we probably wouldn’t consider this gourmet, I appreciate the unfussy, approachable nature of this recipe, which is probably why it has been used for years and years. So, in keeping with that spirit, I used part of the recipe for "Fantasy Fudge” that is found on the back of the marshmallow creme jar, just like my mom and my grandmother. While I decided to keep the method traditional, I wanted to elevate and play with the flavors a bit.

While Christmas day may be over, these treats are still being enjoyed as we countdown to 2021. So, I give you dark chocolate fudge and cookies and cream fudge (with plenty of Oreos!). Of all the Christmas candies I made, this is by far the easiest recipe! Though you do need a candy thermometer, it comes together pretty fast so it can get to cooling, and then most importantly, you can get to eating!

Wishing you a sweet New Year!

Cookies & Cream Fudge

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white sugar

• 3/4 cup butter (1 full stick +1/2 another stick)

• 2/3 cup evaporated milk

• 1, 12oz package white chocolate morsels

• 1, 7oz. jar marshmallow creme

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup crushed Oreos (about 10 Oreos)

Equipment:

• candy thermometer

• lined and greased pan

Method:

(You can use an 8x8, 9x9, or a 9X13 pan for this!)

1. Prep your desired pan with foil or parchment paper and non-stick spray, set to the side.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine: sugar, butter, and evaporated milk stirring to dissolve sugar.

3. Secure candy thermometer to the pot and set to soft-ball or 234 degrees. Stir until the temperature is reached.

4. Immediately remove from heat and stir in white chocolate chips until melted and thoroughly combined. Fold in marshmallow creme, vanilla extract, and salt.

5. Once smooth, pour in Oreos and mix.

6. Pour fudge into the prepared pan and let cool before cutting into squares. Dust top with remaining Oreo crumbs, if you haven’t eaten them already,

Dark Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white sugar

• 3/4 cup butter (1 full stick +1/2 another stick)

• 2/3 cup evaporated milk

• 1, 12oz package dark chocolate morsels

• 1, 7oz. jar marshmallow creme

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Equipment:

• candy thermometer

• lined and greased pan

Method:

(You can use an 8x8, 9x9, or a 9X13 pan for this!)

1. Prep your desired pan with foil or parchment paper and non-stick spray, set to the side.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine: sugar, butter, and evaporated milk stirring to dissolve sugar.

3. Secure candy thermometer to the pot and set to soft-ball or 234 degrees. Stir until the temperature is reached.

4. Immediately remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and thoroughly combined. Fold in marshmallow creme, vanilla extract, and salt.

5. Pour fudge into the prepared pan and let cool before cutting into squares. Can sprinkle the top with salt, if that is your jam!

Spooky Good Candy Bark

I am not a big Halloween girl. Never have been, and probably won’t be until I have children of my own—I have big plans for baby poodles, maybe a scuba diver, and, let’s not forget, The Blues Brothers. There is something about Halloween that just grosses me out, maybe it’s the witches or the gory costumes. I have vivid memories of my mom’s ceramic witch bowl sitting on the kitchen table, and being unable to finish my breakfast as a child. My resistance to the kid-centric holiday was so bad one year my parents just threw in the towel and bribed me to trick-or-treat. I think they were worried that I was going to miss out on the childhood experience, and wanted me to learn to face my fears. As it turns out, an Alexander Hamilton in hand is a pretty good extrinsic motivator. All the while, I was researching how to make sure your Halloween spoils were not tampered prior to receiving them; I watched far too much news as a child. (I also took a rain jacket and umbrella everyday in elementary school!) It is no small wonder I work with anxious children, I can really identify with them.

Once my candy anxieties were quieted by ensuring the seals were not broken, the candy was the one part of Halloween I could get behind. I didn’t eat much of it, but mama loved her some Twix (still do!). I guess I should I call my parents and say thank you because this Halloween I decided to face another one of my fears: tempering chocolate. Ever since I began seeing my baking hero, Claire Saffitz, go through trial and error trying to temper chocolate on Gourmet Makes, the thought of trying it myself challenged and scared me. See also: the perfect combination for growth. Tempering chocolate basically means that you have to bring the chocolate to three different temperatures. The tempering causes an altering in the crystal formation of the chocolate, and when it dries it will be shiny and snap when broken. Don’t get any ideas about short cuts either, you cannot use a sous side, as the stirring is elemental in the tempering process. Also, if you want any chance of making a decent, homemade Peppermint Bark this coming holiday season, you too will have to temper your chocolate. This recipe used the Seed Method to temper.

So this Candy Bark accomplished three things: used up my left over Halloween candy, taught me to do something new, and served as a trial run to the main event: Peppermint Bark. Maybe I should rename this, Type A Bark?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of crushed Snickers

• 1 cup of crushed Twix

• 1 cup of M&M’s, reserving 1/4 cup for sprinkling on the top

• 20 oz of dark chocolate

• 20 oz of white chocolate

• kosher salt for sprinkling at the end

Supplies (besides: pots/pans/and the like):

• two cooking thermometers

• make an ice bath in your kitchen sink, with no more that 2-3 inches of water

  Method:

1. Set up two double boilers, with the water temperature set to simmering.

2. Pour 2/3 of your dark chocolate into one double boiler, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and registers 118 degrees on a thermometer.

3. Immediately take off the heat, pour in the remaining dark chocolate, and stir until melted.

4. Place into ice bath, stirring continuously, until dark chocolate registers 78 degrees. Make sure no water comes into contact with chocolate!!

5. Once dark chocolate registers 78 degrees, place back on double boiler until it reaches 87 degrees. Stirring until temperature is reached. Leave on double boiler to maintain 87 degree temperature while you start tempering the white chocolate.

6. In another double boiler, pour in 2/3 of your white chocolate, stirring until it reaches 115 degrees.

7. Take off heat immediately, and stir in remaining 1/3 of white chocolate, until melted.

8. Place white chocolate into ice bath, and stir until the thermometer registers 78 degrees. Make sure no water comes into contact with chocolate!!

9. Place white chocolate back on double boiler, and stir until it reaches 87 degrees.

10. On a small piece of parchment paper, take a small spoonful of each chocolate and place a drop of each on top of the paper.

11. Once the chocolate dries (should take 5-7 minutes), if it is tempered it will be shiny, and snap when broken. Picture below for reference!

12. On a parchment lined baking sheet, coated with nonstick spray, pour both your dark and white chocolate, and with a knife or offset spatula, create whatever design you fancy. Picture for reference below! If you just want a chocolate bark, you can stop here and freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight to set up. Break into pieces.

13. If you prefer to take it a step further, mix in the crushed Twix, Snickers, and M&Ms, until combined with chocolate.

14. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of M&Ms and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

15. Place into the freezer to harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

16. Break into pieces for serving.

Simple, tempered chocolate swirl!

Tempered dark and white chocolate. See that shine?!

Butterfinger Ice Cream with swirled peanut butter

As the temperatures ramp up in Dallas, my obsession with perfecting ice cream recipes seems to be surging right along with them. I promise, come September 1st, you will see a green vegetable grace this site—maybe even two! But for now, the ideas keep coming, so I’m going to keep churning out (pun intended) the cream. Growing up Butterfinger was my favorite candy, a preferred treat of mine post soccer games. I loved the way the pieces broke off and it was still crunchy while being enrobed in chocolate. Delicious. I’ve tried Twix as a mix in for ice cream and the cookies just do not hold up to the ice cream and the crunch gets lost. All that is solved with the use of Butterfingers. It crumbles beautifully, breaks off into multiple sizes and shapes, the color is a fabulous burnt orange, and stays crunchy! Add in a little peanut butter and you’ve got yourself quite a treat—almost becoming mousse-like when churned. YUM!

Butterfinger Ice Cream with Swirled Peanut Butter:

Pre-freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups of heavy cream

-2 cups of whole milk

-1/2 cup of sugar

-2 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, remember the peanut butter will add salt too!

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-3/4 cup of smooth peanut butter (spray your measuring cup with nonstick spray prior to filling)

-1 cup of chopped/crushed Butterfingers (this took about 10 of the fun-sized bars)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, salt. Stir (do not whisk) together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

2. Add in cream and vanilla and combine. Put in refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.

3. Pull out mix, and give it a final stir, taking care not to make it bubbles, as you do not want to add air.

4. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machines settings.

5. Add in Butterfinger pieces with 5 minutes to go. Then add in your peanut butter—slowly drizzle it in. The candy pieces will grab the peanut butter (they make the texture a little more irregular)—incorporating it easier.

6. Put in a freezing container and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

7. As the little alien dude says in the new Butterfinger commercial, “Nobody lay a finger on my Butterfinger.”

8. Make a sign to go on your ice cream with the same sentiment.

A little abstract ice cream art…