College Fudge
Four simple ingredients and minimal effort create rich, delicious fudge.
Ingredients
- 12- ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk, about 14 ounces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First, prepare an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, so that the paper hangs over the edges of the pan. I used two sheets, so that the paper covered all the sides of the pan with a couple of inches extra all around. Set the pan aside.
- Put the chocolate chips and the condensed milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or the top of a double boiler. Heat gently over a low flame, stirring, just until the chips melt into the milk—it will be very thick and the consistency should be uniform.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Scrape the fudge into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Cover the top of the pan with foil, not touching the fudge, and put it in the fridge until it is mostly (ideally, not entirely) set, about two hours.
- Lift the fudge out of the pan, using the parchment paper, and put it on a plate. Cut the fudge into cubes—whatever size you prefer. That's it. Store the fudge in the refrigerator.
Kitchen Notes
Quality matters. With so few ingredients, use the good stuff. For this, we used Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips and Eagle brand condensed milk.
Equipment matters. The gentlest way to melt the chocolate is in a double boiler, putting a layer of boiling water between the chocolate and the heat source. Next best is a heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat. Some recipes recommend microwaving the chocolate, but we don't—it's too easy to overheat the chocolate, causing it to become thick and lumpy.
So many variations. Here are some flavor variations, each based on using semi-sweet chocolate chips. Yes, if you prefer, you may use milk chocolate chips, and you may also be interested in exploring variations on white chocolate chips.
- Spicy fudge: add 1/2 to 1-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Rocky road fudge: add 2/3 cup mini marshmallows and 1 cup chopped walnuts, Garnish with coarse sea salt.
- Peppermint fudge: crush candy canes to make about 1/2 cup. Stir in 1/3 cup of the crushed candy, and garnish the top with the rest.
- Cherry fudge: add 1/3 cup finely chopped candied cherries; instead of vanilla, use almond extract.
- Orange fudge: instead of vanilla, add 1/4 teaspoon orange extract.