No Fail Penuche Fudge Food

PENUCHE FUDGE

Steps:

• Butter a baking sheet. Butter the sides of a heavy, 2-quart saucepan.
• In the saucepan, stir together white sugar, brown sugar, cream, milk and margarine and bring to a boil over medium heat. Heat, without stirring, to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm (110 degrees).
• Stir in vanilla and beat vigorously until mixture loses its gloss. Quickly stir in pecans and spread on prepared sheet. Score into squares while warm; cut when firm.

EASY PENUCHE

Steps:

• Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a heavy bottomed 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heart, stirring as needed.
• Stir in the brown sugar and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Gently pour in the milk and stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil.
• Remove from heat and let cool for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the mixture is lukewarm or at room temperature.
• Stir in the vanilla extract.
• Stir in powdered sugar, one to one-half cup at a time, stirring until completely combined. Add powdered sugar just until the mixture is thick and has the consistency of fudge. (It wall harden as it chills.)
• Stir in coarsely chopped pecans.
• Spoon into the prepared loaf pan and top with additional pecans if desired.
• Cover and cool until firm.
• Cut into squares and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

EASY PENUCHE FUDGE RECIPE (BROWN SUGAR FUDGE)

Steps:

• Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If you are using foil, coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
• Prepare the ingredients you will need last, because you are going to be in a hurry later. Chop your white chocolate into small chunks for faster melting. Take the lid off your marshmallow creme and peel off all traces of the foil lining (so that you can microwave it later for easy scooping. Microwaving is optional). Set out your vanilla and salt.
• In a 3 quart HEAVY saucepan over medium high heat, melt 3/4 cup butter. Before it melts all the way, use your spoon or knife to rub the sides of the pot with butter, almost all the way to the top. This helps prevent sugar crystals from forming on the edge of the pan, which can cause your fudge to not come to the right temperature.
• Add 2/3 cup evaporated milk. Add 2 tablespoons corn syrup.
• Add 2 and 1/2 cups brown sugar to the center of the pot. Be sure to avoid getting sugar on the edge of the pan to avoid the sugar crystals that I mentioned before.
• Use a wooden spoon to stir slowly until the butter has melted completely and been fully incorporated.
• Bring to a full rolling boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon. Once it starts boiling (that means bubbles coming up from the CENTER of the pot, not the edges of the pot), set a timer for 5 minutes and turn the heat down to medium so that you don't burn your fingers off--it should be at a rolling boil the full 5 minutes. Stir constantly. If you want to use a thermometer, boil until it reaches about 236 degrees F.
• When the timer goes off, remove from heat and immediately add the chopped white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate has melted completely and there are no lumps. You will notice that if you stop stirring even for a few seconds, the fudge will start to harden, so work quickly.
• Take the lid off your marshmallow creme, remove all traces of foil, ignore the label that says "Do not microwave in jar," and microwave in the jar for about 20 seconds, until you see the marshmallow start to rise above the lip of the jar. (You don't need to microwave. It's just a hack to make it really easy to get the marshmallow out of the jar, which can be a pain.) Use a spatula to add all the marshmallow creme to the fudge and stir. You will notice that if you stop stirring even for a few seconds, the fudge will start to harden, so work quickly.
• Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to the fudge. Beat the fudge with your wooden spoon, scraping the bottom and sides well, until all the marshmallow has been incorporated and the fudge is an even light golden color with no streaks.
• (At this point, add chopped toasted nuts if you are into that. I haven't made it with nuts but I would guess between 2/3 cup to 3/4 cup chopped pecans will do ya.)
• Immediately pour into the prepared and lined square pan.
• Let cool to room temperature. This usually takes 3-5 hours depending on the temperature of your house. Once the fudge has had a half hour or so to cool, cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid so it doesn't get dried out. You can refrigerate the fudge to speed up cooling, but let it come back to room temperature before attempting to slice it.
• When you are ready to serve, lift the parchment paper or foil out of the pan. Use a long chef's knife to make even slices. Store on the counter covered. Fudge will keep on the counter for about 3-5 days before getting dried out.
• You can freeze fudge! I do this every year for the holidays. Freeze in a block and allow to come to room temperature before slicing, or slice and arrange in a sealed container, then freeze. I prefer the latter, then I can just pop it out of the freezer and add pieces to the cookie plates I'm assembling.

BUTTERY PENUCHE (BROWN SUGAR) FUDGE

Steps:

• In a heavy medium sized pot, bring first 4 ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
• Reduce heat to low and stir frequently until candy thermometer reads 240°F (soft ball stage) (this will take about 20-30 minutes).
• Pour into a metal bowl as a plastic one will melt and add vanilla.
• Beat with electric mixer at medium speed.
• Add powdered sugar slowly and continue beating until fudge is thick and smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
• Add walnuts and stir with spoon.
• Spread in an ungreased 8" square pan and refrigerate-uncovered for about 30 minutes.
• Cut into small squares and eat.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Steps:

• Combine the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. (Use caution when removing this mixture from the microwave, it will be very hot.) Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Spread into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

PENUCHE FUDGE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. square pan with foil; grease foil with 1 teaspoon butter., In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugars, milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a rapid boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage). Remove from heat. Add vanilla and remaining butter to pan (do not stir)., Cool, without stirring, to 110°, about 40 minutes. Beat with a spoon until fudge just begins to thicken. Add walnuts; continue beating until fudge becomes very thick and just begins to lose its sheen (about 10 minutes total). Immediately spread into prepared pan. Cool., Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Remove foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store between layers of waxed paper in airtight containers.

NO-FAIL FUDGE

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square pan with foil and greased the foil with 1 teaspoon butter; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and salt. Melt remaining butter; add milk and vanilla. Stir into sugar mixture until blended; whisk until smooth. Stir in M&M's. Immediately spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours., Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

EASY NO-FAIL CHOCOLATE FUDGE (NO THERMOMETER)

Steps:

• Line a 8-inch square pan with foil.
• In a heavy-duty sauce pan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt; bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Boil stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes (this must be timed nothing less than 4 minutes!).
• Remove from heat; stir in the marshmallows, chocolate chips and vanilla, stirring vigorously until marshmallows are completely dissolves.
• Stir in nuts.
• Pour mixture into prepared foil-lined pan.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
• Lift from pan (with foil) remove foil; cut in squares.