‘I am looking for a recipe for pumpkin fudge,” Granite Falls reader Elaine M. Taylor writes. “It is yummy!
“I had some of this delicious fudge a couple of years ago at the Fudge Hut in Leavenworth. But the recipe I got off the Net last year turned out horrible!”
Longtime and faithful Forum helper-outer (not to mention awesome Everett cook) Arlene Snell has frequently rushed to rescue one or another of us. And let us in on some wickedly delicious and funkily different food discoveries besides.
Remember her mystery tomato mold? That one’s become an annual Christmas and New Year’s tradition with many Forum cooks.
And so has this one. It is, of course, the how-to for pumpkin fudge. Snell told us (in a Nov. 2, 1998, Forum column) that the recipe was from a friend of hers.
“This sounds odd … but it is really good!” she said.
And so it is, and so the recipe follows.
Next up on the fudge front, let’s go again with a recipe for those of us (like me, like me!) who are candy-thermometer challenged.
It was sent along to us by Keith McGregor of Monroe, who told us (in an April 22, 2002, Forum) he’d never before answered an SOS, “but said request called to mind a recipe that has been one of my family’s comfort foods for slightly more than 50 years.”
He went on to say that he had loved his mother’s homemade chocolate fudge, “but her recipe did that soft-ball test thing that is far too much trouble to bother with. Then she found a recipe that is lots simpler – even I could do it.”
The recipe McGregor shares with us is the following heavenly traditional chocolate fudge.
Pumpkin fudge
1small can (51/2 ounces) evaporated milk, not canned skim milk
3cups sugar
3/4cup butter
1/2cup canned pumpkin
1/4teaspoon ground ginger
1/2teaspoon cinnamon
1/4teaspoon nutmeg
1package (11-12 ounces) butterscotch chips
1teaspoon vanilla
1cup chopped pecans
1jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
In heavy, 2-quart saucepan, combine milk, sugar, butter, pumpkin and spices; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil over medium heat until mixture reads 234 degrees on candy thermometer (this should take about 25 minutes or less).
Remove pan from heat and stir in butterscotch chips until melted. Add vanilla, nuts and marshmallow creme. Mix until well combined.
Pour mixture into buttered 9-by-13-inch pan, spreading evenly.
Cool at room temperature, then cut into squares, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. Or, cut into chunks, wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil and refrigerate.
Makes about 3 pounds.
Saints Episcopal Guild of Inverness foolproof fudge
2squares unsweetened chocolate
2cups sugar
1/3cup light corn syrup
1 1/2teaspoons vanilla
1tablespoon butter
1/2cup milk
Pinch salt
1/2broken pecans or walnuts (optional)
Place chocolate in 10-inch iron skillet over medium heat. Melt and add other ingredients, except vanilla and nuts. Turn to high heat and stir until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Boil 2 minutes only, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and add nuts and vanilla. Cool until lukewarm (when you can touch the bottom of the skillet without burning your hand), then beat until very thick. Pour into buttered dish.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Time Out section.
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