Yesterday I made fudge and it turned out exactly like the stuff I used to make when I was 12. My car is in the shop and I needed a recipe using ingredients in my pantry. After a lot of internet hunting I located the original recipe that used to be printed on the Hershey's cocoa box. It is great because it uses 1/3 less sugar than any other fudge recipe on the web. Here goes:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's)
2 cups white sugar (next time I will use even less)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I used Maple Syrup)
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
Mix in corn syrup and milk until well blended.
Add butter, and heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and loses its gloss. Stir in vanilla, and pour into a buttered 9x9 inch baking dish. Let cool until set. Cut into small squares to serve.
I beat it too long and it ended up in a mound but it was still delicious. Next time I am going to decrease the sugar to 1-3/4 cups or maybe even 1-1/2 cups. I didn't have any light corn syrup so I used real Maple syrup. Worked fine. I didn't even have any milk so I used powdered milk to make 1 cup. Worked fine. Next time I will use condensed milk. Next time I might add a glob of peanut butter at the end too. Yum!
7 comments:
Oh, did this ever bring back wonderful memories. Memories of my mother holding up a Pyrex cup containing water at eye level as she let the chocolate confection drip. She could tell a soft ball stage in a heartbeat. We would hear "nope", or "almost", and finally, "ah, there it is."
There was a sadistic side to her though. After what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the concoction to "lose its gloss" and she had poured it all out into a baking dish, she let my brother and me lick the pan but we had to SHARE! We had to take turns cleaning it out. Nothing has ever tasted so good since.
Yummo, Rosemary. I think the peanut butter would make it even better! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I remember my mom making this, especially testing the "soft ball" stage, dropping a wee amount into a glass of water, and then the beating it with a spoon. Usually it turned out, sometimes it didn't, and then we would eat it with a spoon! Yum!
Your substitutions sound really yummy! Maple syrup and condensed milk . . .
My husband "thanks you" for this recipe from the bottom of his heart. I will try this with your maple sugar substitute -- as I have no corn syrup either, but always have real maple syrup on hand. I think I will try a little peanut butter as well.
I have some free time on my hands this morning - so I'm off to make some fudge!!
:)
I think I would like your "maple syrup" version better than the original, if I made it :-) Isn't it a wonderful thing when resourcefulness pays off?(and even when one is stuck at home, one can have fun in the kitchen?).(I hope Webster isn't a fudge stealer my dog, though)
Sounds yummy. Wish I'd seen this yesterday when the rain was keeping me from working outside!
Growing up my mother made the original fudge from the recipe on the Hershey container. As young children we began making it ourselves. There were three of us so we had fudge very often. However, I do not recall the recipe having corn syrup at all.
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