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Peanut butter fudge is easy to make and delicious! It is the perfect homemade candy to make for holiday gifts, cookie exchanges, and dessert tables.

I’m just going to come right out and say it – this peanut butter fudge recipe is in no way healthy. Nope, not one bit. But it sure is delicious and a simple fudge recipe to make! We’re in the 9th week of the 12 weeks of Christmas Treats (can you believe it?!?) and I’m bringing my recipe to you one day early because of Thanksgiving being on our normal Thursday posting.

Many years ago, my grandmother used to make Mexican fudge. It was like a praline fudge and it was so delicious. But I could never seem to duplicate it myself. Then she gave me the recipe for peanut butter fudge. Now, the planets seem to have to aligned! The humidity needs to be low here in Texas (kind of a rare thing) for the fudge to come out. I blame candy making failures on the humidity!

But this time I timed it right and chose a day that was a bit cooler AND I had the time to make it.

Peanut butter fudge has just the right hint of peanut butter to that sweet fudge taste, making them perfect little bites for any holiday sweets table spread.

Having a candy thermometer is a must so that you can keep an eye on the sugar mixture for it to come to soft ball stage. And it seems as though it stays stuck on 220°F FOREVER! I think it was about 30-40 minutes for me. But once it makes it to the soft ball stage, it is quick to mix up and spread in a pan. Easy. Now I will say that this batch turned out a little more crumbly than I would like, but my family thought it was delicious!

I think it’s because of the disparity in my candy thermometers, and I let it get a little too far into the soft ball stage (see my pictures below for explanation). It does freeze well, though. Just put it in a freezer safe container separated by wax paper. I know I’ll have plenty for gift-giving and holiday sweets trays and tables!

I hope you’ll give this peanut butter fudge a try!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut butter fudge is easy to make and delicious! It is the perfect homemade candy to make for holiday gifts, cookie exchanges, and dessert tables

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 25

Cooling Time: 1

Servings: pieces

Calories: 347kcal

Author: Brenda Thompson

Ingredients

Instructions

Combine evaporated milk, sugar and butter/margarine. Cook and stir constantly over low heat until candy reaches soft ball stage. To test for soft ball stage, either use a candy thermometer (temperature at 235ºF-240ºF–seems like it is “stuck” at 220ºF forever!). Or use a cup of cold water and drop a teaspoon of mixture into water and if it makes a soft ball it is ready.
In large bowl, put in crunchy peanut butter and marshmallow cream. Pour candy mixture over peanut butter mixture and beat until candy loses its gloss. Turn into a buttered 13” x 9” pan and cut into 1” squares when cool. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

*Since this recipe was my grandmother’s the size of the peanut butter jars has changed from the 20 oz. jar called for to 18 oz. So I added an extra tablespoon or so to give it the boost of peanut butter flavor I wanted it to have.

Nutrition

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @MealPlanMom or tag #MealPlanningMagic!

Just five simple ingredients is all it takes to make this easy peanut butter fudge recipe.

And a whole lot of sugar–yikes! Eat a big salad the day you make these so you can indulge a bit!

Mixing sugar, butter, and milk to create homemade fudge — The sugar milk butter mixture will boil and get really foamy and big. Just keep an eye on it and keep stirring!

candy thermometer — It seems to stay at 220 degrees for a really long time!

baking pan covered with aluminum foil and greased with butter — I lined the pan with foil and greased it so it makes it easier to pull out and cut.

boiling ingredients to make peanut butter fudge — This is the mixture after about a half hour of it coming to the soft ball stage temperature.

sugar boiled to the soft ball stage — This is what the soft ball stage looks like in the cold water. I like how the drizzling made a pattern–kind of makes me think of a dancer!

candy thermometer shows softball stage — This one shows it at the soft ball stage but I think it was a little too high in reality.

cooking thermometer — This was my grandmother’s candy thermometer. It read a little higher than mine. And I think this one was really the one I should have followed.

placing peanut butter fudge into a prepared baking pan — Just dump the mixture out of the bowl into the pan–then spread!

slicing pieces of peanut butter fudge with a pizza cutter — I used my giant pizza cutter to make cutting the fudge into squares so much easier!

You can find all sort of sweet treats inspiration and much more on my Pinterest boards. And be sure to check out all the other bloggers who are participating this week in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop… you’ll have no excuse of “I don’t know what to make!” And if you’re a blogger and want to join in on the fun, check out this post for the form to fill out to start baking along with us!

Comments

Liz

November 21, 2012 at 5:16 am

Oh, my daughter will be thrilled that I’ve found a tried and true pb fudge recipe!!! YUM!

- Meal Plan Mom (Brenda)
  
  November 21, 2012 at 6:58 am
  
  Yay! Let me know how yours turns out if you decide to make it.
  
Sue @ Cakeballs, cookies and more

November 21, 2012 at 6:53 am

oh yummy!

Tracy

November 21, 2012 at 7:28 pm

I love peanut butter fudge! This makes me want to make some, it was always a Christmas staple growing up. 🙂

Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl

November 21, 2012 at 7:30 pm

My grandmother used to make the best peanut butter fudge every Christmas…I wish I would have thought to get her recipe while she was still alive. I’ll have to try this recipe–grandma’s recipes are always the best, aren’t they? 🙂 Have a great holiday, and thanks for hosting.

Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction

November 21, 2012 at 8:37 pm

Your fudge looks delicious. Bet it disappears pretty quickly.

Eleanor@Eatinglikeahorse

November 22, 2012 at 2:30 pm

I was literally just looking for a good fudge recipe and this looks perfect!