Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

In the 1800’s, kitchens were busy with bread and soups and such. No one had cookies or brownies or popsicles. How shocked are you to think that they did have fudge though!

Like many other good culinary inventions, fudge way an accident. While stories tend to be inconsistent, the basic tale claims that fudge was created from a failed batch of caramels. Thank goodness someone wasn’t making the caramels correctly or else we may still have no fudge today!

In the old days, fudge was called “Divinity” because it tasted “simply divine”. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that Divinity took on a new look—the look of white chocolate fudge… my favorite!

Now-a-days we can enjoy many different flavors of fudge, from chocolate, to mint, to fruit-filled—you’re only limited by your imagination! Enjoy this tasty (and easy) peanut butter fudge recipe for a new twist on an old favorite.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 stick margarine
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1) Mix sugar, milk, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Boil, stirring frequently, until it forms a soft ball in cold water.

2) Remove from stove and add peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until creamy and pour into buttered 9×9 pan. Let cool before cutting.

*If you want chocolate peanut butter fudge, add 1 heaping teaspoons of cocoa to the top four ingredient before cooking.

Yum-o. I love peanut butter and this delicious fudge recipe is a great way to enjoy one of my favorite flavors. Although I do love peanut butter I also love chocolate (as I’m sure you know!) To turn this fudge recipe into chocolate peanut butter fudge, add one teaspoon of cocoa to the other ingredients. It’s a great way to sweeten up any day… peanut butter fudge!

White Chocolate Fudge Recipe

One of my favorite desserts is one which is many times overlooked—the ever beloved fudge. Chocolate fudge is a dense, yet delicious dessert. Originally it was produced with dark or milk chocolate. This recipe is a tantalizing twist on classic chocolate fudge; a white chocolate fudge recipe.

Along with my other fudge recipe, a milk chocolate fudge recipe, this fudge is extremely heart healthy. Nuts like almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts or pecans are great ways to keep your heart healthy.

While, yes, fudge is typically a splurge, who’s to say that it can’t be good for you too? No one! It doesn’t usually take much fudge to satisfy a sweet tooth, so this white chocolate fudge recipe is a great dessert for pretty much any occasion. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces white chocolate, melted
• 1 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts or macadamia nuts)

Directions:

1) Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended.

2) Gradually add chocolate; mix well. Stir in nuts. Spread in greased 8 inch square pan. Chill several hours. NOTE: you can also use 3/4 cup nuts and 3/4 cup dried apricots or other dried fruit.

Some of my favorite things to add into this delicious white chocolate fudge recipe include, mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, a variety of nuts, or dried fruit. For holidays, you can try swirling in some food coloring, like red and green for Christmas or blue for Hanukah! This white chocolate fudge recipe is a great way to make any occasion a special one so have fun with it!

Easy Heart Healthy Fudge Recipe

Fudge is a decedent dessert and if you’re trying to eat healthy, then you can’t eat any.

Come on! Get real! I love fudge too much to cut it out of my life completely. With this recipe you don’t have to and in addition to the low calorie and fat count, this recipe also tackles another situation in nutrition—heart health.

I recently stumbled across an interesting health related site called The Health Hub and I found it extremely enlightening. There’s information on a ton of different topics, but the one I found most staggering was heart disease.

Heart disease is the nation’s number one killer and kills one person every 30 seconds, in the Unites States alone. There are things we can do to prevent it thought. Don’t be a statistic… because you don’t have to be.

Yield: 64 candies

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
• 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, if desired
• 1 ½ cups chopped nuts, if desired (almonds and walnuts are especially good)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1) Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with butter.

2) In 2-quart saucepan, heat milk, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth; remove from heat.

3) Quickly stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread in pan. Refrigerate for about 90 minutes or until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares. Enjoy!

This recipe is great for parties, gatherings, or just a night at home. The best part about this fudge is that your heart really, truly is benefitting from it. In the top ten heart healthy foods are almonds and walnuts. By adding these plant omega-3 fatty acids, you will be on the right path to better heart health.

Nutritional Value:

In Each Serving (1 piece)…
Calories: 55 (Calories from fat: 20)
Fat: 2g (Saturated Fat: 1g)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 10mg
Carbs: 8g (Fiber: 0g)
Protein: 1g

Percent Daily Value…
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 0%