“The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one
fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each
other.” Johnny Carson
In
earlier posts, I gave ideas and recipes for snack mixes that parents
and kids can make with their kids for gifts. Today I would like to share
the hands-down easiest food gift I have ever made. (Well, maybe it was
so easy because Kara made all 100+ pounds of it that year!) Seriously,
if you know how to make simple fudge recipes (i.e. evaporated milk,
marshmallows, and marshmallow cream, etc.), you will be surprised how
quickly many (dozens!) of food gifts come together in this tip.
I
purchased those little six-eight inches or so across plastic holiday
tubs (the real inexpensive ones without lids that are about three to
five inches deep). (You can use any container really, that you don’t
care to get back—but because you do not need lids, you can get them
extremely cheaply—I think I got mine like 4/$1 at Dollar Tree or
somewhere like that.)
Then we, uhm, Kara, began making
fudge (recipes below). She started the butter melting in the huge
“saucepan” and spread the containers out on counters. When the fudge was
ready, rather than pouring it into 9 x 13 glass baking dishes (like we
usually do), she simply filled each little plastic container (200 of
them!) with fudge. She continued in this manner with all of the
chocolate-walnut, then all the peanut butter. In two to three hours or
so, she had like 70-80 containers filled with 50 lbs of fudge! (She was
sixteen when she did this and was not all that experienced cooking on
her own as she was our chief editor at the time—so she got out of
kitchen duty a lot!)
When the fudge was cool and firm,
she slid each one into a decorative bag (the little tub sat down in the
bag so the top of the bag was twisted and tied (with ribbon) above the
little tub—so tub sat upright in the bag) and tied it up. At that point,
because we have a small house and little storage, she simply stacked
them all in Rubbermaid tubs with lids and placed them in the storage shed (our "other refrigerator") until we
were ready to distribute them!
We have done various
gifts for neighbors, students, church friends, family members,
librarians, and more, including cookie trays, snack mixes, quick breads,
yeast breads, and goodie tins. This is the simplest and fastest, by
far. It is easy to clean up (just sauce pan, measuring cups,
thermometer, and spoons). Plus, they taste amazing!
Below are the recipes for all three of the fudges she
used for this—chocolate walnut, peanut butter, and chocolate-peanut
butter ribbon. Merry Christmas!
Chocolate Walnut Fudge 6 pounds
8 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter 1 cup = 2 sticks
2 Each marshmellow cream 7 oz jars (2 of them)
2 Cup Walnuts, chopped Or more!
2 Each Evaporated Milk 12 oz cans (2 of them)
2 Package Chocolate Chips 12 oz pkgs (2 of
them=4 cups)
Instructions
1. Melt butter in large heavy sauce pan.
2. Stir in milk and sugar.
3. Bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching (on
medium to medium high heat).
4. Bring to softball stage (235').
5. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.
6. Add marshmellow cream and nuts, stirring until well blended.
7. Pour into 2 9 x 13 baking dishes.
8. Cool at room temp.
9. Makes approximately 6 lbs.
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Chocolate Walnut Fudge -- Double 12 pounds
16 Cup Sugar
2 Cup Butter 1 cup = 2 sticks
4 Each marshmellow cream 7 oz jars (2 of them)
4 Cup Walnuts, chopped Or more!
4 Each Evaporated Milk 12 oz cans (2 of them)
4 Package Chocolate Chips 12 oz pkgs (2 of
them=4 cups)
Instructions
1. Melt butter in large heavy sauce pan.
2. Stir in milk and sugar.
3. Bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching (on
medium to medium high heat).
4. Bring to softball stage (235').
5. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.
6. Add marshmellow cream and nuts, stirring until well blended.
7. Pour into 4 9 x 13 baking dishes.
8. Cool at room temp.
9. Makes approximately 6 lbs.
_______________________________________
Peanut Butter Fudge 5-6 pounds
4 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Cup Marshmallows, miniature
4 Cup Sugar
4 Cup Peanut Butter, creamy
2 Cup Evaporated Milk
4 Tablespoon Vanilla
1/2 Cup Butter 1/2 cup = 1 stick
Instructions
1. Combine sugars, evaporated milk, and butter in heavy saucepan.
2. Cook until softball stage on medium (235'), stirring often.
3. Remove from stove.
4. Stir in marshmellows, peanut butter, and vanilla.
5. Stir until all is melted and begins to thicken.
6. Pour into 2 13 x 9 greased (PAM) baking dishes.
7. Cool, cut, and serve.
8. Makes approximately 5-6 pounds.
------------------------------------------------------------
Peanut Butter Fudge -- Double 10-12 pounds
8 Cup Brown Sugar
8 Cup Marshmallows, miniature
8 Cup Sugar
8 Cup Peanut Butter, creamy
4 Cup Evaporated Milk
8 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Cup Butter 1/2 cup = 1 stick
Instructions
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Combine sugars, evaporated milk, and butter in heavy saucepan.
2. Cook until softball stage on medium (235'), stirring often.
3. Remove from stove.
4. Stir in marshmellows, peanut butter, and vanilla.
5. Stir until all is melted and begins to thicken.
6. Pour into 4 13 x 9 greased (PAM) baking dishes.
7. Cool, cut, and serve.
8. Makes approximately 10-12 pounds.
________________________________________
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ribbon Fudge 12 pounds
Ingredients for Both Layers
4 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Cup marshmellows miniature
12 Cup Sugar
4 Cup peanut butter, creamy
2 Cup Evaporated Milk
2 Each Evaporated Milk 12 oz cans
4 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup Butter 1 stick=1/2 cup
2 Each marshmellow cream each jar=7 oz
2 Each Chocolate Chips each=12 oz package
Instructions for Chocolate Fudge “Ribbon”
1. For the chocolate fudge, melt 1 cup butter in large heavy sauce pan.
2. Stir in 2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk and 8 cups sugar.
3. Bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching (on
medium to medium high heat).
4. Bring to softball stage (235').
5. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.
6. Add marshmellow cream, stirring until well blended.
7. Pour chocolate fudge mixture into 4 9 x 13 baking dishes.
8. While chocolate layer is cooling, make peanut butter fudge according to
instructions below.
Instructions for Peanut Butter Fudge “Ribbon”
1. Combine 4 cups brown sugar, 4 cups white sugar, 1 cups evaporated milk,
and 1/2 cup butter in heavy saucepan.
2. Cook until softball stage on medium (235'), stirring often.
3. Remove from stove.
4. Stir in marshmellows, peanut butter, and vanilla.
5. Stir until all is melted and begins to thicken.
6. Pour over the four pans of chocolate fudge once it is cooled somewhat.
7. Let all cool before cutting; may put in fridge or cool garage, etc. to
cool quicker.
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