Thanks to Pinterest, I have been finding so many great recipes lately, and this afternoon I plan on sharing a few of my favorites on Twitter & Facebook. But first, I thought I’d share one of our favorite family recipes. This time of year, we keep the ingredients on hand for easy access on a rainy Friday night or a snowed-in school day. I prefer peanut butter fudge as you can tell from the pic below, but the recipe can be for both chocolate and peanut butter fudge… it all depends on what chips you use!

Momma’s Easy Fantasy Fudge

Prepare a 13×9 or 9 inch square pan by lightly greasing it before starting your recipe. You will need a 4 quart microwavable bowl for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips, plus 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter)

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

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1.) Microwave butter one minute or until melted.

2.) Add sugar and evaporated milk; mix well.

3.) Microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. Mix well; scrape bowl. Then microwave on HIGH for another 5 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. It’ll be boiling like crazy.

4.) Gradually stir in chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients, in order listed; mix well.
Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container. Makes 3 pounds.

Tips & Tricks from Momma:

If you are making this recipe with peanut butter, the reason for the 1/2 cup peanut butter addition is that the peanut butter chips come in a smaller weight than the chocolate. 

One word of warning: I’ve always made several batches of fudge in a row. I learned the hard way that your spoon needs to be completely dry when you add and stir in the chips and marshmallow creme. I used to stir with my favorite wooden spoon and would wash it in between batches of fudge. The wooden spoon tended to not be completely dry when I’d work with it on the second batch. What happened is that the fudge would suddenly turn grainy and harden much too fast to work with. I learned my lesson…and in the process, realized that an introduction of another liquid such as vanilla flavoring should always be added right at the end of the recipe!

P.S. Don’t forget to check Twitter & Facebook this afternoon to see some of my favorite Pinterest recipes! #BellesPinterestFinds