Another new Christmas treat for me. Bizarrely, I don’t think I’ve ever made fudge. Probably because it’s not my all-time desired sugar fix. But after struggling to get my caramels to work this year, and not feeling in the mood struggling to make a batch of my whiskey caramels, I decided to make a booze-laden fudge instead. The first batch (Style 1) that I made actually wasn’t as infused with maple flavor as I’d hoped, so I will use maple extract next time. The liqueur taste did come through, and still paired nicely with the dark chocolate and the walnuts.
Next time, I am going to try Style 1 with some Kahlua Chocolate & Chili liqueur with a dash of cinnamon and cayenne, with pecans or macadamias.
Style 2 Fudge was dreamy. I thought it would be overpoweringly “marshmallow,” but ended up being fluffy, creamy, and sets and cuts like a dream!
The differences between the two is that Style 1 Fudge uses sweet and condensed milk and Style 2 Fudge uses buckets of sugar and eggnog/cream.
Style 1 Fudge - With Sweet & Condensed Milk
Ingredients
- 1 14 ounces can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ⁄4 cup Maple Cream Liqueur*
- 12 ounces package semisweet chocolate morsels**
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
- Line a 8x8 pan with tinfoil and spray heavily with a non-stick spray.
- In a large, heavy saucepan, combine sweet and condensed milk and liqueur.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat; until it reaches 234°
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in the chocolate morsels, stirring until melted and smooth. Add the walnuts and vanilla, stirring well to combine.
- Spread evenly into the lined pan.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours or more.
- Lift foil onto cutting board, peel fudge from foil and cut into uniform squares to serve.
Notes
** Use the bulk semi-sweet melting chocolate to save some money
Style 2 - Eggnog Fudge
Ingredients
- 1 3 ⁄4 cups sugar
- 1 ⁄2 cup butter
- 3 ⁄4 cup eggnog
- 12 ounce white chocolate chips*
- 1 ⁄2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered nutmeg
- 1 jar marshmallow creme 7 ounce/198g jar
- 3 tablespoons spiced rum or 2 teaspoon rum extract
- 1 cup walnut pieces
Instructions
- Bring the sugar, butter and eggnog to a full boil in a heavy medium-size saucepan.
- Continue to boil until it reaches a temperature of 234°F on a candy thermometer, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
- Remove from heat and stir in the white chocolate chips and the grated nutmeg, stirring until the chocolate is melted.
- Add marshmallow creme and the rum / rum extract; beat until well blended.
- Add the walnut pieces and mix.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Dust with some more grated nutmeg.
- Cool for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Cut into 1" squares.