How To Make My "Top Secret" Peanut Butter Fudge

 Merry Humbug Blogland! As I am sure you have noticed by my animated "Mini Me" I have been making Peanut Butter Fudge. Now there is a recipe that I am sure you have all seen & tried on the back of the marshmallow creme jars that tells you how to make Chocolate Fudge with walnuts. Well, we don't eat that in my house. I use the basis of the recipe but change it up a bit. I use an extra 1/2 cup sugar & an extra tsp. vanilla in mine & instead of chocolate chips, I use about 6 oz. of Peanut Butter. Because the Peanut Butter is creamy I add the extra sugar to make sure it has enough "umph" to get firm. Plus instead of cooking it to 234 degrees F on the candy thermometer I let it cook to about 240-242 degrees F. Gotta play it safe ya know. Once my youngest daughter made some but did not use my tricks & her fudge never firmed up right but she said it made an awesome sauce over ice cream!  She is inventive just like her Mamma!

 Here is the butter, sugar & evaporated milk cooking up to the "magic" stage.  I took a shot of the candy thermometer but it did not turn out very well. Apparently they do not understand the phrase "don't blink". Next shot is my stirring the marshmallow creme, peanut butter & vanilla all up.

You are supposed to remove from the heat but I have a metal plate & six screws in my right arm so sometimes I place the pan back on top of the still warm but turned off burner just to help me along a bit. Yea, I don't follow directions too good....never did really. I now for some shots of the firmed up fudge! I always make a double batch when I make the recipe. Might as well get 6lbs instead of only 3 lbs for the same time & mess involved, right? This is just the first round of fudge for me this Holiday Season. My son always gets 18lbs of fudge every year. He saves it & rations it out cause he says I do not make fudge enough throughout the year. He thinks there should be Sunday Fudge, Valentine's Day Fudge, Easter Fudge....you get the idea. Just look at your basic card store calendar with all the crazy holidays nobody has even heard of half the time & that is when my kid wants me to make fudge! Okay, final shots of Nirvana still in the pan.

 Looks pretty tasty, huh? Oh yea....taking some of this into work tonight to share with the co-workers. Maybe the boss will give me that extra day off a week I want! The 6 days a week is killing me here.

I also wanted to share some neat-o recipes that I got in an email from Parents Magazine.

Sugarplum Snowflakes

Ingredients

    * 1  can  (16 ounces) jellied cranberry sauce
    * 1  cup  sugar plus additional sugar, for coating
    * 3  boxs  (3 ounces each) strawberry, strawberry-banana or cranberry gelatin mix
    * 1  pouch  (3 ounces) liquid fruit pectin
    *   Wilton jumbo white nonpareils, optional

Directions

1. Line a 9 13-inch baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil (you can try Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Aluminum Foil) nonstick side up, letting the foil extend for several inches on both sides of the baking pan.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat cranberry sauce on high, whisking vigorously. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in both sugar and gelatin mix. Bring to a full boil, scraping down sides of the saucepan with a rubber spatula. Reduce heat to medium-low, and maintain a gentle boil for 8 minutes, stirring often.

3. Remove from heat and stir in pectin until the sauce is well blended. Pour mixture into pan and spread it in an even layer. Refrigerate overnight or until the jelly is very firm.

4. Lift jelly from pan by foil ends and loosen the edges with a small knife. Cut out shapes with 1-inch snowflake cookie cutters, remove from foil, and dip in sugar, coating both sides. Press a few nonpareil balls into snowflakes, if desired.

 

I am gonna have to make some of those & these!

Cornflake Christmas Wreaths

Ingredients

    * 1  bag  (10.5 ounces) mini marshmallows
    * 1/4  cup  (1/2 stick) butter
    *   Green food coloring
    * 4-1/2  cups  cornflake cereal
    *   Jumbo red nonpareils
    *   Light corn syrup
    *   Red sour belts

Directions

1. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Lightly coat a 1/3-cup measure with nonstick spray.

2. Stir marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and tint with 5 or 6 drops of food coloring. Gently stir in cornflakes.

3. Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of the mixture and drop into 6 piles on each baking sheet. Let cool 5 minutes. Spray fingers with nonstick cooking spray and shape each pile into a wreath, gently compressing the flakes together. Refrigerate until firm.

4. Decorate wreaths with nonpareils or candy balls, attaching them with a dab of corn syrup.

  

Have a blast with your Holiday baking Blogland. I've had a great time but I gotta hit the Broom & go!

(poof)

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