Easy Homemade Fudge (A Grandson’s Tradition)
You know when you have something so good that almost any other variation leaves you a little disappointed. That was my grandma’s fudge. Every holiday season we’d get a tin in the mail of Grandma’s homemade fudge. It always had a perfect texture, smooth, just soft enough without being too squish-able. Never gritty and not overly sweet. The chocolate comes through first and foremost in every smooth & luscious bite. With a twinkle in her eye, she’d call it her “bah humbug” fudge. The family called it perfect.- Todd
Easy Homemade Fudge Recipe
What seems like forever ago, I found grandma’s fudge recipe notecard and started faithfully replicating her Christmas giving of fudge every year. At first it took me a while to read between the lines in the minimalistic recipe card, but it wasn’t long before I started to understand the nuances in the technique. After a couple years I’d be able to consistently make a successful batch vs one that would get scuttled off to the side, not feeling it good enough to be passed on to others. When we finally felt we understood it enough to pass on the recipe & share it with everyone, we gladly shared the recipe & a bit of grandma’s story.
Video of our Easy Fudge Recipe
Our Family Tradition
Fast forward over several decades, we are still making grandma’s fudge every holiday season to share with friends and family. Many happy bellies and quite a few filled pockets (we would have just given you a bag if you asked), there are so many loving souls we’ve been able to share what grandma started. Only one little thing… for the last couple years it hasn’t been grandma’s recipe. Knowing how I struggled to initially understand the correct “soft ball stage” in making the fudge, and even though I could now make it spot-on by sight and feel, we knew there would be many cooks going through the same learning curve.
Modern Easy Fudge Techniques
So we modernized grandma’s easy fudge recipe to make it easier and more successful for anyone wanting to share to love. The texture and right level of sweetness is still as it was in grandma’s recipe. I can’t tell the difference in taste between the two recipes, but our new version is so much easier to make with much less chance of “cast aside” batches. As with grandma’s original recipe, feel free to leave out the roasted nuts or dried fruit it that isn’t to your fancy. That was how she made it for us and how I’ll always love it. And as always “Keep chunks of fudge airtight or wrap with plastic wrap and give to friends, loved ones, and save a secret stash for yourself to eat.” Happy cooking everyone! – Todd & Diane
This recipe was originally published in 2019.
Homemade Fudge
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
- 1/4 cup butter , preferably salted butter
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
- 1 cup roasted nuts – pecans, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, etc… (optional)
- 1 cup dried fruit – raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries, etc… (optional)
- optional flaky salt
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch baking pan (or similar shaped dish) with aluminum foil. Set aside.
Stovetop Method
- In a large saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 cup butter then cook over medium-low heat until the butter is melted (make sure not to get it too hot – you want everything gently melting, not bubbling up).
- Stir in the 1 cup mini-marshmallows and cook until the marshmallows are melted, stirring constantly. Usually we'll turn off the heat just before the marshmallows are fully melted so it doesn't get too hot and start separating when the chocolate gets stirred in and melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in the 12 oz. chocolate chips.
- Stir until completely melted and evenly incorporated. Continue to the Finish Steps.
Microwave Method
- In large microwave safe bowl, combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 cup mini-marshmallows. Microwave on High in 20-30 second intervals or until the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth, stirring between each interval.
- Stir in the 12 oz. chocolate chips until completely melted and evenly incorporated (if needed, microwave for another 15-30 seconds to get it warm enough to melt all of the chocolate chips). Continue to the Finish Steps.
Finish
- Stir in the optional 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 cup dried fruit.
- Pour the fudge mixture into the prepped pan and lightly press to evenly flatten the fudge and to press into the edges of pan to make sure fudge fills the corners. If desired, top with a little bit of flaky salt-optional (for a while we used to top with a little salt, but lately have found we enjoy it more without – you choose to do what your tastes prefer).
- Allow the fudge to cool completely to room temperature (at least 3-4 hours).
- Once the fudge is completely cooled, remove from the pan and peel off the foil. Cut into desired pieces. And as always "Keep chunks of fudge airtight or wrap with plastic wrap and give to friends, loved ones, and save a secret stash for yourself to eat."
Notes
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Holiday and other Dessert inspirations
- Grandma’s original fudge recipe
- Banana Bread inspired by Grandma
- Persimmon Bread recipe
- Banana Cake with butterscotch
- Apple pie croissant boats
- Check out of more of our Dessert Recipes Here
- This recipe was originally published in 2020
Here’s morefudge recipe ideas to explore.
The recipe doesn’t state if the butter is salted or unsalted. Do you have a preference? I went with salted and didn’t add the flaky salt. It’s so good!
Hi Cristi,
So glad you loved the fudge. You can use either salted or unsalted butter. We nearly always use salted butter, just like you did. The sweetness of the fudge benefits from that touch of salt in the butter. But either butter will be delicious. Thanks for the comment & question.
Hi Todd & Diane
All of your food is great, this time you have gone overboard with the fudge. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
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This is the best fudge recipe I’ve ever tried. It’s perfect to put into little goodie bags for our relatives for Christmas.
This is my absolute favorite fudge recipe! It’s simply the best.
So I never thought making fudge was this easy! Thanks for the easy-to-follow instructions!
This looks amazing and so Christmassy! I love anything that has marshmallows and nuts in the same bite, so I think I’ll give it a try.