The BEST Farmhouse Fudge Recipe - Cedar Hill Farmhouse (2024)

I know this blog is about interior design, but I decided to step out of the interior decor for today and share my very favorite fudge recipe with you. I’ve been making this fudge for about 20 years, and have modified the recipe over time.

My friends told me the last batch this year was the very best, and so I thought you might enjoy having this recipe.

THE BEST FARMHOUSE FUDGE

2 (12-ounce) packages semisweet chocolate morsels (4 cups)

1 cup butter

1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow cream

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup strong coffee

2- 1/2cups sugar

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Butter

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.
• Combine sugar and evaporated milk in a buttered Dutch oven.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches soft ball stage or candy thermometer registers 234 degrees F.
• Pour over chocolate mor­sel mixture. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until mixture thickens and begins to lose its gloss. Stir in vanilla, coffee and chopped pecans.
• Spread fudge evenly into a but­tered 15-x 10-x 1-inch jellyroll pan. Chill until firm.
• Remove from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for several hours to dry and continue to firm.
• Cut into squares.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator or freezer. Yield: 5 pounds.

Getting the marshmallow cream out of the container can be a bit sticky as Evie will tell you. Molly is very interested in learning how to make fudge. We usually double this recipe since I take a lot of the fudge to a cookie exchange and share with friends and neighbors.

When you are boiling the milk and sugar on the stove there are a few things to keep in mind.I actually have a hard time getting the candy thermometer to register 234 degrees (soft ball stage) so I do a soft ball test to know when the mixture is done. I set a glass of cold water by the stove. As the candy mixture bubbles, at some point, the bubbles go down to half their height in the pan. That is usually when the mixture is ready to be removed from the heat. To know exactly when to remove my pan from the heat, I do a few tests along to way to be sure the mixture is at the soft ball stage. We do that by dripping a small amount (1/4 teaspoon or so) into the cup ofcold water. Does the drop form a ball or spread like a drop of oil on water? If it forms a ball, and drops to the bottom of the glass, it is done. If not, keep cooking. You can also check the drop to see if it is soft or hard. If it is hard, you waited too long. This test in the water is much more trustworthy than the actual temperature of the mixture. I do use a candy thermometer to see what the temperature is, but don’t rely on temperature alone.

When it is done, remove from heat.

How do you know if the fudge didn’t cook long enough? Well if the fudge never gets firm, even after cooling and being left out to dry, then you will know it didn’t cook long enough.

How do you know if the fudge cooked too long? If the milk and sugar mixture hardens too much it won’t incorporate well with the chocolate mixture and will have hard bitsit in. Also if you cook it too long, it will start to caramelize too much and will burn. You will see bits of brown when you stir, which brings me to another point. Also as you spread out the fudge in the pan, if it doesn’t smooth well but looks bumpy, the mixture cooked too long.

Did you know that every time you comment you are automatically entered to win my giveaway? Details here.

As a safety precaution, be sure you stir the mixture on the stove constantly and don’t ever walk away from it. To make candy, it has to cook at a very high temperature and you really need to monitor your stove very closely.

In the end, it’s so worth it!

I hope you enjoy it. People think making fudge is complicated and tricky , but really you just need to follow a few guidelines. It takes about 20 minutes on the stove, so make sure you can focus on the task for at least that long without interruption before you start.

And I have a question for you. Do you want to see more recipes or is that something you don’t want to see here? I want to know what you think. The focus of this blog is never going to switch to food, but if readers want some of my recipes, I would be happy to share them.