(Mea Culpa: A good friend tried the recipe and it did not work because I mixed up some of the information. My sincere apologies. IF MY WIFE COPY EDITOR WOULD READ THIS EVERY SO OFTEN, it might have been fact checked and verified. The changes are below.)
A Christmas tradition in the Heath household is to give fudge to our family, friends, neighbors, favorite shopkeepers, etc as a gift. We’re up to about ten batches and it seems to keep growing but we really enjoy doing it. That whole “to-give-is-better-than-to-receive” stuff is actually true. Go figure.
The recipe is no secret. It is actually based on the Never Fail Fudge recipe on the Marshmallow Fluff ® container and website with a few tweeks and adjustments over the years to suit our own taste.
So, without further ado, the recipe for the Famous Heath Family Fudge.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 can of condensed evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
5 cups sugar
1 container Marshmallow Fluff ®
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2 12 oz. bag of real chocolate chips
1. In a large sauce pan (5 or 6 qt, not sure how big ours is), combine the stick of butter, condensed evaporated milk and salt over medium-low heat. We cook on a gas flame and set it at just below half, around 5 o’clock if you looked at the knob like a clock.
2. Stir the mix until the stick of butter is melted.
(note on stirring – over the years of making fudge, Jenny and I have discovered that the key to this recipe is constant stirring. We stir during the entire process, taking turns and this year drafting asking Linc to help. You must, must, must continuously stir)
3. Once the butter is melted, add the five cups of sugar and stir some more until the sugar is blended in.
4. Add the entire container of marshmallow fluff and, yes, stir. (if you can, find the actual Marshmallow Fluff ® brand. A friend used a substitute with disastrous results)
5. Continuously stir until the fluff is melted and the entire mix comes to slow, rolling boil.
6. Set a timer for 5 minutes and (wait for it…) stir.
7. At the end of the 5 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla extract (careful, it will spit at you during this step)
8. Add the chocolate chips and (anyone? anyone?) stir until the mixture is brown and smooth.
9. Pour into a cake-type pan of your choice (we use glass pyrex), cover with tin foil and either place in the garage (only during the winter!) or fridge to cool.
10. Use a spatula, scraper, fingers, etc to clean the delicious warm fudge from the inside of the pot (best part IMHO).
Enjoy.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakuh, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus and Happy New Year from the Heath Family!
