I have pretty vague memories of my grandma Killen, but I feel like I am lucky to have any memories at all. Most people I have met never got to meet their great-grandparents and I was lucky enough to have nearly all of them around as a kid. I have very fuzzy memories of holiday fudge but had no idea who it came from or even that it was holiday related. I didn’t realize until my Aunt Tina sent me this recipe that my great-grandparents had a “secret” fudge recipe.
Apparently, grandma and grandpa Killen would make a special Peanut Butter Fudge every year at Christmas and hand it out to all the kids and grandkids. It was a closely held secret and my great-grandmother would not give it up. Eventually, my Aunt Tina convinced her to share the recipe and she’s held on to it ever since.
- ¼ cup Unsalted Butter
- ½ cup Light Corn Syrup (or Maple Syrup)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbs Water
- ½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 lb Powder Sugar
- ⅓ cup instant Non-Fat Dry Milk
- Melt butter, syrup and peanut butter in a sauce pan on low heat.
- Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar and powdered milk together in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add vanilla and water to the syrup mixture, stirring as needed.
- Once the liquids are melted and mixed together in the sauce pan you can start adding the dry ingredients. Add half the mixture and incorporate until almost smooth, then add the remainder. It will get very thick as you mix (I use a whisk) but keep stirring until the mixture is silky smooth.
- Lay parchment paper in a small baking pan so that it covers the bottom and comes up all sides.
- Pour fudge onto the parchment paper and let chill (at room temp or in the fridge if you're impatient).
- Cut into bite sized pieces and serve.
Using the parchment paper in the bottom of the baking dish makes it easy to remove for cutting. Simply grab the edges of the parchment and lift the whole chunk of fudge out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Now cutting those bite sized pieces is super easy.
There are few things in this world that wife likes more than maple and peanut butter. Once I told her I had this recipe she asked why I had been holding out on her and threatened divorce if I didn’t make it immediately. It turned out pretty amazing and anyone that has tried it says great things about it. For me, it comes out a little dry but you can play with the ratio of wet ingredients to dry ingredients to find the consistency that works best for you. The bonus is that you’ll get to make several batches before you get it dialed in just right and making homemade fudge tends to make you a popular person.
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