Peanut Butter Fudge

I did not have an opportunity to make much in the way of candy this winter. It was just so humid. But this is a recipe that works, is simple, and tasty. My mom used to make peanut butter fudge but I never had the recipes, so when one of my friends brought in her grandmother’s recipe – it was just like my mom’s. I have tried other recipes but this one is the only one I make any more.

Hood was asking for a piece, so ….

This is also a treat I can share with the dog – though in very small doses.

2 cups sugar
3 Tbs butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter

Prep an 8 x 8 glass pan with cooking spray.

Put sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to minimum and stir continuously until the mixture is caramel brown and the candy thermometer reaches 245 degrees (use the thermometer – no really, do it!)  Remove from heat, add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until completely mixed. Place in a 8 x 8 glass pan and let firm up. Then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Amy’s grandmother

11 March 2018

2015 Butter Usage (by Month – August)

1 August 2015 – 3 Tbs – Peanut Butter Fudge
1 August 2015 – 8 Tbs – Peanut Butter Cookies

6 August 2015 – 2 Tbs – Everyday Orzo
6 August 2015 – 2 Tbs – Rutabega

7 August 2015 – 16 Tbs – Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie

Peanut Butter Fudge – AB

14 August 2015 – 8 Tbs – Peach Cobbler

15 August 2015 – 16 Tbs – Blueberry Cookies

19 August 2015 – 2 Tbs – Peach Clafoutis

20 August 2015 – 2 Tbs – Gruyere Orzo (again)

22 August 2015 – 3 Tbs – Rice Krispy Treats
22 August 2015 – 8 Tbs – Gruyere Crackers
22 August 2015 – 16 Tbs – Lemon Sour Cream Cookies

28 August 2015 – 16 Tbs – Peanut Butter Fudge  – AB

Total 102 Tbs = 12.75 sticks = 3.1875 pounds

Finally, a respectable number. Damn Skippy!!

Peanut Butter Fudge – AB

So I made my friend Amy’s peanut butter fudge that was her Grandmother’s recipe a couple of weeks ago. It was good, but I saw this recipe from Alton Brown which seemed easier and needed (gasp!) no candy thermometer and only used the microwave. Nice for the summer, if you ask me.

Peanut Butter Fudge – Alton Brown

I had taken Amy’s first batch to split between work friends and other friends, but had had a request for it again which gave me the perfect opportunity to try AB’s version. I trust AB implicitly. I used his roasted turkey recipe for the first time I ever made the whole Thanksgiving dinner – that is how much I trust him.

Because it is still scorching hot here – it is only early September after all, basically, still friggin’ summer – I stored this in the fridge, but it can be left out at room temperature, I was being cautious.

Peanut Butter Fudge
Alton Brown

8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound powdered sugar

Combine the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. (Use caution when removing this mixture from the microwave, it will be very hot.) Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Spread into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes: I really like the texture of this fudge. It was very creamy. It went over very well, especially with The Boy. That always makes me happy. It is funny neither he or I like “real” fudge, but we both like this. One warning: it is sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. Small price for great flavor and texture. Just make the pieces really small. That helps.

Recipes – making them my own

I like trying recipes and finding favorites that I make over and over again. And I almost always make some adjustments. I cannot help myself. I guess the only recipes I do not change too much are my mom’s recipes and a few other family recipes.

Some recipes I change so much that I claim them as mine. I think that is fair, in the grand scheme of thing.

I think now it is time to start making my own recipes. So I am going to start with a few things that I remember from childhood that I have not been able to quite get there. So research. Which was always my favorite part of my uni education. Research, at least to me, is fun. What do you expect from a historian? Research. Yep. I’m a total nerd that way, but it was always my favorite part, at least until I learned how to really write. A public school education, at least in my day, did not really teach you how to write. It was sad really. The one thing I learned working for my master’s degree was that I needed to learn how to write and understand the English language much better than a public school education had taught me. To bad it cost a crap-load of money to do that.

I am still a word nerd, but I do not think that is a bad thing. It is kind of funny, I think if I had to do it over again, I would be (a Secret Service agent – no … really!) or a linguist (much more likely).

So research it will be for the following things:

Peanut Butter Fudge – can not quite help myself.

My mom’s meatloaf – especially a meatloaf sandwich.

Chicken and Rice – really simple, but slightly amazing.

Cheese Crackers – did the Cracker Challenge a few years ago, but I feel like the only person that makes cheese crackers – is that possible?

Potato Salad – been struggling with this all summer – and not to my satisfaction.

Peach Cobbler – wow – this one is charged. I love my mom’s recipe, but I don’t really like the biscuits on top. How to fix that?

 

 

Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge

This recipe is from my favorite student staff member … from her grandmother. So excellent.

2 cups sugar
3 Tbs butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter

Prep an 8 x 8 glass pan with cooking spray.
Put sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to minimum and stir continuously until the mixture is caramel brown and the candy thermometer reaches 245 degrees (use the thermometer – no really, do it!)  Remove from heat, add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until completely mixed. Place in a 8 x 8 glass pan and let firm up. Then cut into bite-sized pieces.

New refrain in my house: “No, you are not getting any fudge.” This, you must understand, is being said repeatedly to our dog Hood regarding peanut butter fudge. It is my fault, I stared by giving him a little, now I have created a monster.

My mom made us a great breakfast thing and it was based on the fact that her family was poor. How to extend peanut butter for a very large family? In this case you boil sugar and water and add vanilla extract. And then stir it into peanut butter. It makes a smooth spread, slightly sweeter than peanut butter and with a hint of vanilla flavor. We would spread it on toast for a great Saturday breakfast in front of the television watching cartoons. When I was a kid, that was the only time cartoons were on – oh, how things have changed. Sometimes when I’m in the mood for a late night snack, I still make this. But only if I give Hood some peanut butter too.