Sunday, December 18, 2011

Ole Dad's Mouth Melting Fudge. Oh My Aching Arm.


My dad was born in 1913.

Gilbert would have been 98 years old this year.

98.

Hard to believe.

When talking to me, Dad would refer to himself as "Your Ole Dad".

"Listen to your Ole Dad".

"Don't worry sweetheart, your Ole Dad will take care of it".

"Trust your Ole Dad on this one".

When I was growing up, Dad never seemed "Old" to me.

He was just my wonderful....handsome....Dad.





When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, most men weren't in the kitchen cooking and baking.

But that wasn't the case for dear Ole Dad.

The Kitchen was where you could always find him.

Thankfully, over the years, I have safely guarded all his hand-written notes, letters, and of course his wonderful recipes.

One of which, shown below in his own writing, was his "self-titled" mouth-melting Fudge Recipe.


2 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1(5 ounce) can evaporated milk
7 1/2 ounce jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Nuts, optional
Wooden spoon

Click ME for PRINTABLE Recipe

Note:  My Dad only used Marshmallow Fluff.  I'm not saying you have to use Fluff instead of Kraft's Marshmallow Creme - I use it cause Dad used it.



I realize that most people have their own Fudge recipe.

And most people's recipe is probably pretty close to Ole Dad's recipe, which happens to be pretty close to the Marshmallow Fluff fudge recipe.

But it's not necessarily the "what" of the recipe, it's the "how" part that I remember.

Every single Christmas, he would tell me the same thing.

"Listen to Ole Dad. The key to good fudge is to be sure to stir and stir and stir the HELL out of it".

He told me time and time again....."If you don't stir and stir and stir it, then the sugar doesn't break down, and your fudge will have sugar grit in it.  And no one's fudge is as creamy as your Ole Dad's".

Dad was right, and here's how he told me to do it.

Have EVERYTHING ready before you being.

That way, your constant stirring will not be interrupted.  Which is what Dad said was the Key to good fudge.

Timing is everything Dad use to say, so prepare ahead of time and your Fudge will turn out perfectly.

So let's get started.

1. Get out a 9 x 13 pan and spray Pam or butter the bottom and sides.  Set aside.

2. Open up the Marshmallow Fluff and tear off the paper lid, and set aside next to your stove.  Also get your long handled spoon that you're going to use to scoop out your Fluff and set that aside.

3. Open your Chocolate Chip bag and set aside next to your Fluff.

4. Have the lid off your Vanilla, along with a teaspoon and set aside with the chocolate chips and Fluff.

Now you're ready to begin the "oh my aching arm" stirring without any interruptions.

In a large pot, place one stick of butter, 2 1/2 cups sugar, and the evaporated milk.

Turn your heat up to Medium High.


I hope you've lifted your weights this week, cause your arm is going to need all the help you can get for the next 10 minutes.

With your favorite wooden spoon, keep the movement going.

Stir.

And stir and stir and stir and stir.

Butter will start to melt, and things will start to incorporate.


Don't forget to keep stirring.

Your arm is gonna be pretty agitated with you right about now.

You're gonna move your spoon from your tired right hand to your energetic left hand then again back to your right hand (which has had time to recuperate) and back to your left hand.

As Dad said, "Stir the HELL out of it".

Things will start to slowly bubble.


It will take about a good 7 minutes of constant stirring before the bubbles will start to appear.

Soon, the bubbles should be good and constant now.

The faster you stir, the bubbles just keep appearing.  When the bubbles are constant, keep stirring for two minutes longer.

Turn your burner off and move your pot over to the unused cool burner next to it.

Immediately pour in your chocolate chips.

Stir stir and stir.  Once the chips are half-way melted, add the vanilla.

Stir stir stir again until all the chocolate chips are completely melted.

If you prefer nuts in your fudge, now would be the time to add them.  Dad would make two batches. One for me, without nuts, and then another one with walnuts.

Now, quickly scoop out all the Fluff and add to the pot.  This part can get messy.


Try to get as much Fluff out of the jar that you can.

Stir stir stir stir until all is totally and completely incorporated.

Keep stirring until you can no longer see the white of the Fluff.


Once the Fluff has been all mixed in with the chocolate, pour into your buttered 9 x 13 pan and spread out evenly.

Just like at the candy store.




Once you've spread the fudge in your pan, place directly into the refrigerator for one hour.


Now, let's get to the important stuff.




After one hour, take the fudge from the refrigerator.

Slice the Fudge into long strips, then into small squares.


Place fudge squares in a container with a tight lid.

Refrigerate fudge 8 hours, or overnight.

The next day, remove from refrigerator and serve fudge at room temperature.

Fudge can now be stored at room temperature in container with lid.


Oh my aching arm....But OH what delicious fudge.

Thanks Dad. I sure do miss you. 

14 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this. Like you, growing up (in the 1970's and 80's), my dad (born in 1927) was most comfortable in the kitchen. My (dear ole) dad would have been 84 on Monday and I too treasure the hand-written recipes (his, his mother's, his aunt's, even his mother-in-law's). Perhaps your father and mine are now sharing a piece of fudge on the other side... :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your dad was right! This is my Mom's fudge, too. And stirring the living daylights out of it is the key. I really loved your post. Thanks for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Me and my dad also love fudge. Your recipe looks so delish.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can I use. My hand mixer on low


    ReplyDelete
  6. You are adorable.....love the story and the fudge !

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing your family recipe, it is simple & delish. It's Christmas Day and plan to share w/ family & friends! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks very delicious. I love eating chocolate fudge and so many thanks for sharing its recipe. I will give it a try soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I found your Ole Dad's Fudge recipe six years ago. I seem to always misplace the printout and come back here to get it. I always reread your posting and find myself laughing at the "stir like hell." To me, coming back to get the recipe and rereading about you and your dad has become a Christmas tradition to me. Thank you for sharing your Dad and his fudge with us. Now I'm off start the fudge... got to stir like hell.;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have been making this recipe for about 5 years now and every year, people ask me if Im making my fudge this year. They love it! Everybody loves it. It is so good. Thank you for shareing this recipe. I too, reread the entire story every year. It is a personal tradition. The reason I started making this recipe is because of the story and the pictures you posted of you and your dad. The pics remind me of my grandpa and he always made the fudge at christmas time too. Unfortunetly, I did not have a recipe left behind but I like to think that this one is close. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looking to buy sex toys online in India? Adultscare.com is one of the best online seller, sell quality sex toys . Order now - 9872164966

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your dad was right! This is my Mom's fudge, too. And stirring the living daylights out of it is the key. I really loved your post. Thanks for sharing. :)

    Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic

    BioFit Probiotic

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice post. Your article looking very nice. Thanks for shearing it.
    How to stop overthinking in a relationship

    ReplyDelete
  14. Please Read.You have a great post here, Have anyone here know Goji Berries... yes... I tried those too.For my health conditions, Those sweet, red berries seemed to help, but only during the time when I consumed them. I don't want to take a drug for the rest of my life, so why would I want to take a natural supplement everyday for the rest of my life (although Goji berries are very tasty and are highly nourishing). To me this was not a cure either (and I'm LOOKING for the CURE).
    Up to that point, I hadn't found a cure. I felt like a young jumbled mess. I continued to have extreme pain, but continued on my path to healing. I started to focus on myself and not everyone else. When I was a young adult, I took on too much responsibility out of a sense of obligation. This was no longer healthy for me, so I resigned from all my projects and groups. Those days to come were the best [and worst] days. I took a lot of time off work, yet begun to feel so extremely exhausted. Many health professionals "diagnosed" me with adrenal fatigue & Hiv,Prostate Cancer so my situation was annoying then I keep searching for permanent cure online that's when I came to know of Dr jekawo herbal doctor hands whom god has blessed with ancestral powers and a gift to heal people with disease like .Cancers,Alzheimer's disease,HPV,Men & Women Infertility,Melanoma, Mesothelioma, Diabetes, Multiple myeloma, Parkinson's disease,Neuroendocrine tumors,Herpes, Hiv/Aids,Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,, chronic diarrhea, COPD, Hepatitis... So I made a purchase of his herbal medicines and I have been watching my health for 6 years now and I actually confirmed that his herbal medicines are a permanent cure and I'm so happy that I came to know of his herbal healings.You can contact Dr Jekawo herbal doctor Email: drjekawo@gmail.com if you went through exactly what I go through in terms of health conditions because to be honest there is more to learn about natural herbs than medical drugs.

    ReplyDelete