Dark Chocolate Fudge with Pecans

A few days ago, I shared a few of our favorite Christmas recipes. These are the ones we have made time and time again over the years. However, in addition to old favorites, every year there are a few new sweets that are added into the mix. Last year, one of the new items I made was this fudge. Now, I consider myself a bit of a fudge snob simply because I have eaten so much of it in my lifetime. In fact, Paul and I honeymooned on Mackinac Island where we did nothing but eat fudge all week long at the various confectionery shops that can be found all over the island. I am very sensitive to fudge that has not been properly mixed, leaving a slightly gritty texture to the end product. Most homemade fudge tends to end up this way, unfortunately, so I have never really been too eager to eat or make homemade fudge.

This recipe completely changed my mind. I was immediately drawn to it when I first spied it as part of a recipe roundup and the little anecdote about the author's mother eating the fudge for breakfast during the holidays simply because it was that irresistible convinced me to try it. Plus, I now was the mother of the biggest chocolate fiend known to man: Lucia Therese. That girl can pack away the chocolate like no other child I have ever seen, so I knew at the very least she would like it!

This fudge completely blew me away. It's smooth, rich, creamy and just magnificent. I find it completely irrisistible and everyone I have shared it with has agreed! Plus, it's probably one of the easiest "cookie" recipes around, making it the perfect addition to the already long list of tasks left to do this Christmas. Looking for a last gift for your child's teachers? How could they resist a plate of this fudge?

I completely underestimated how much Lucy would like this fudge. After I spent some time cutting the fudge into little 1-inch cubes, I placed them in a tupperware container and left it sitting in the middle of my kitchen island while I went into the study to help Matthew with his homework. When I returned, I found that my little Lucy had taken the wooden stool out of the bathroom, pushed it along the floor until it butted up against the kitchen island, and then stood on her tiny little tiptoes and strained with her tiny little fingers until she was able to reach the container holding the precious chocolate. She carefully pulled it towards herself, pried the top off, and began eating handful after handful of fudge. When I arrived on the scene, her face was covered in chocolate and she looked at me with bright eyes and a grotesque, fudgey smile as she muttered through bulging cheeks: "Mmmmm....good!"

I snapped this picture as I was cutting the fudge and I noticed Lucy making her way onto the
stool to see what I was doing. This was her facial expression when she spied the chocolate!

Lucy's dessert after dinner this week has been a small piece of this fudge cut into even tinier pieces. The girl loves her chocolate!

I can say for certain that this fudge will definitely be added to the Christmas favorites list in the years to come!

Dark Chocolate Fudge with Pecans
from Foodiecrush

1/2 cup cubed butter (room temperature)
12 oz. dark chocolate, chopped (I used a package of Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips)
2 cups of sugar
⅔ cup evaporated milk
12- 15 large, fresh marshmallows
¾ cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make a sling using parchment paper and fit into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, pour in the chopped chocolate and the 8 tablespoons of room temperature butter. Set aside.

In a large pot, stir together the two cups of sugar and the evaporated milk until mixed. Add the marshmallows and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is completely melted. Give it a few extra stirs to ensure that the sugar is thorougly dissolved and then pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Let sit for a minute and then slowly stir together until the chocolate and butter are melted and combined. Add in the vanilla and chopped nuts.

Immediately scrape into the prepared baking dish. Rap the dish on the counter a few times to even out the mixture and then place in the fridge until set. After about an hour, cover with plastic wrap and then allow the fudge to continue setting overnight.

Use the sling to remove the fudge and cut into neat little squares. Enjoy!