Even though I don’t normally eat fudge, it just isn’t Christmas without making it. My family, my husband’s office, our neighbors, and my doctors are all extremely thankful that I can’t make it through a Christmas season without making batch after batch of fudge. For years, I have made multiple batches of both plain fudge and fudge with walnuts to give away. Last year, I added in peppermint fudge and oh, my! I am a fan!

 

For fudge, I like to use cheap foil pans from the Dollar Tree. The foil used to make the pans is thin and easier to cut when it’s time to take the fudge out of the pan.

 

When the fudge has set and it is time to remove it from the pan, leave the fudge whole and cut it after it is out of the pan. Use kitchen shears and snip each corner of the pan.

Carefully tear the four corners and peel away from the fudge. BE CAREFUL! It is easy to cut yourself doing this, so use caution. Do not allow children to do this step! A responsible adult needs to be the one to snip, tear, and peel the foil pan.

One the side of the foil pan have been cut and peeled away from the fudge, gently lift the fudge out of the pan and onto a cutting board.

 

Use a large butcher knife to cut the fudge into squares. Keep your fingers on top of the knife and press down.

 

For smaller pieces: Cut down the middle, then cut each half into halves for a total of 4 sections. Cut each of the 4 sections in half again for a total of 8 sections. Turn the cutting board 90 degrees and repeat for a total of 64 small squares of fudge. (My apologies, I failed to snap a picture of the fudge cut into 64 pieces.)

For larger pieces: Cut down the middle, then cut each half into thirds for a total of six sections. Turn the cutting board 90 degrees and repeat for a total of 36 squares of fudge.

 

To make the fudge peppermint and not plain or walnut, I used the same recipe that I do for both of those and simply left out the walnuts and added peppermint oil. I use LorAnn peppermint oil that I can buy in packs of two from Walmart.

 

Peppermint Fudge

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 5 oz or 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 3 cups white granulated sugar
• 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon peppermint oil
• sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Place butter, milk, and sugar in a large, heavy saucepan on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted. Bring to a rolling boil (Boil that cannot be stirred down and continues to boil while being stirred.) Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, vanilla, and peppermint. Stir until chocolate and marshmallow cream are fully incorporated and smooth.
3. Pour into foil pan. Jiggle the pan to distribute evenly. Add sprinkles.
4. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and cutting.