father's day fudge {a.k.a. peanut butter fudge}

Have you ever had anyone tell you that you were so beautiful only to realize years later that you had a uni-brow and unruly frizzy hair? Or have someone insist that you are on a “fun adventure” when you call and request  to be rescued from a freeway in 100 degree heat because you ran out of gas?  These are just two of the thousands of reasons that my dad is so great.  Sure, this was a hard fact to see growing up when he marched in my high school lunch room with his accordion to sing me happy birthday or blast show tunes and shake the car every time he dropped me off in the middle school carpool line.  Well, here I am many years later, chalking all of that up to self-esteem building and realizing I have been blessed beyond belief with the greatest dad.

While my dad doesn’t cook much, I am pretty sure he is the reason I love to do so.  I have decided over the years that I love to cook because I love to eat and I definitely got that from my father. 

It seems like yesterday that I was in lower school eating breakfast with my dad one Saturday.  Someone must have been having oatmeal because the brown sugar was on the table.  We happen to glance at the back of the box and saw a recipe for peanut butter fudge.  We both agreed that it looked like the tastiest fudge we had ever seen, and we just had to try it.  Less than five minutes later, we had come up with exactly what we would be doing for the rest of the afternoon and headed to the grocery store.  And just like that I was hooked on cooking because this was the most amazing fudge I had ever had. 

The funny thing about this recipe is that day I felt like we had been slaving in the kitchen all day and had made an extremely complicated gourmet dish that tasted like absolute heaven; all these years later, it’s about the simplest, quickest one pot dessert you can make (and still unbelievably rich and good).

So thank you dad, for taking the time to clear your schedule and just make fudge.

Almost two years ago, I was given another amazing father, my father-in-law.  Ron is an amazing cook (I’m still waiting for you to guest blog!)  and I have shared some great times with him in his kitchen.  So, Happy Father’s day to you too and hopefully your fudge makes it to Missouri safely!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Adapted from Imperial Brown Sugar

Recipe Notes

If you do not have a candy thermometer, do not let that stop you from making this fudge.  I have made this more than a few times and this is the first time I used a thermometer.  Just make sure and boil it for about 6 minutes and it will be at the right temperature.

Ingredients

12 Imperial Sugar or Dixie Crystals Redi-Measure Light Brown Sugar pouches (3 C)
2/3 C (5-oz can) evaporated milk
1/2 C butter or margarine
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow crème
1 C smooth peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 C miniature marshmallows
1 C roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped

Step by Step

Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter.  Combine brown sugar, milk and butter in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan.  Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Boil to 235 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently (see recipe note about thermometer).  To avoid grainy fudge, don’t scrape mixture from sides of pan.  Remove from heat. 

Add marshmallow crème, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth.  Stir in miniature marshmallows and peanuts. Pour into greased pan and spread evenly.  Cut into 1-inch squares.  Makes 36 squares.

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