- 1-1/3 cups milk or evaporated milk
- 4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1/4 cup margarine
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Get out a large sauce pan, 3 or 4-quart
sized. In it combine the milk and sugar.
Start heating the mixture over medium heat.
Stir in the cocoa, salt and corn syrup. Mix
very well to dissolve the cocoa. Bring the
mixture to a boil and allow it to cook until
it reaches the Soft Ball stage when a small
amount is dropped into a bowl of cold water,
or 234° on a candy thermometer. When it
does, remove the pan from the heat and place
it on a dish towel or cake rack to cool
down. Add the margarine and vanilla, but
don't stir. Remember, Don't Stir it yet.
Just let it sit by itself in a corner,
almost forgotten. Let it cool until the
bottom of the pan is barely warm to the
touch, or about 110°. This may take as long
as an hour, so be patient. When the fudge
has cooled down, start beating it with a
spoon or whisk. Very quickly (sometimes less
than a minute, sometimes a couple of
minutes) it will start to loose it's glossy,
shiny appearance on top. When it just begins
to loose this reflective quality,
immediately pour it into a pan greased with
margarine. You should grease the pan ahead
of time, while the fudge is cooling in the
pot. Shake the fudge in the pan to spread it
evenly. Or if that doesn't work, try to
spread it out with a spoon. Allow it to cool
and harden, and then cut it into pieces. I
use a 7 by 10-inch pan to set up this fudge,
a 9-inch square pan would work too. As would
an 8-inch square pan, although the pieces
would be a little thicker.
Don't scrape the sides of the pan while you
are making this recipe. The sugar on the
sides of the pan will cause the whole batch
to crystallize and it will still taste good,
but have a grainy texture. I really
recommend a candy thermometer for candy
recipes. The cold water test is a skill that
takes a lot of ruined batches to develop.
This recipe makes about 2-1/4 pounds of
fudge, it is so good I can't even tell you,
you have to make it for yourself. Makes an
excellent gift.
For more great gift ideas, take a look at
Gifts In A Jar - an ebook full of
inexpensive gift ideas ... The basic idea is
that you add baking mixes and the like and
arrange them in glass jars. Add a nice label
and a bow and you have an inexpensive
homemade gift.
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