Five Minute Fudge

This summer has been so terribly awfully hot. I know other areas in the country are feeling the heat more than we are in Chicagoland. Even in down state Illinois there have been plenty of days when their temp has been ten degrees higher than here.

So what do you do when you have a craving for something sweet and it's just too hot to turn on the oven to make cookies? There are tons of no bake cookie recipes out there and things like Rice Krispie Treats that you can "bake" in the microwave. I didn't have all the necessary ingredients, and no way was I leaving the comforts of my air conditioned home for a sweltering meltiness of my car. Enter Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge from Momma Hen's Kitchen.

This fudge only has FIVE ingredients: Sugar, milk, cocoa, peanut butter and vanilla. Score, I always have that stuff on hand. Even better than that, this type of fudge does not need a candy thermometer.

I don't know if I've mentioned on here before. The candy thermometer and I are not friends. The last few attempts at making candies as resulted in disaster and horror. I fear that thermometer like campers lost in an abandoned summer camp that is situated over an Indian Burial ground right next to the old insane asylum that is also right next to the maximum security prison where people frequently get abducted by aliens.There is nothing to fear about this fudge though. The picture above was taken right after I poured it into the pan. You can see that it starts to set up right away. My fudge never set up as well as I wanted it to, even after storing it overnight in the fridge. This was probably due to the excessive humidity and that I don't think I let the fudge boil for long enough.

The directions say that once the milk, cocoa and sugar comes to a rolling boil, let the mixture boil for one minute. I started timing at the point I thought was a rolling boil, but at one point the mixture bubbled up even more rapidly than what I thought was a rolling boil. The next time I make this I'm going to start the timer once the mixture reaches bubble insanity.

Even though it was hot out, the time I spent in front of the stove was minimal, less than 5 minutes. I can stand 5 minutes of extra hot for a pan of fudge. It's worth the suffering for the reward you will reap.

I was impressed that the consistency of the fudge was quite smooth. That meant to me that I didn't screw it up. It's easy to crystallize your fudge and get a grainy texture. I think I can improve the fudge's texture the next time I make it. I read that you will get a smoother fudge if you don't scrape the sides while you are boiling it. I will give that a try the next time I make these guys.

Please beware when you make this fudge. It is definitely crack for people. It's not just called five minute fudge because you can make it in five minutes. You can also eat the whole batch in five minutes. I probably could have eaten the entire pan in one sitting. However, I had restraint. I only ate one row instead. I should get some sort of medal...or even better...another pan of fudge.

Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge from Mamma Hen's Kitchen
2 cups sugar
2 heaping tbs cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Butter an 8" x 8" baking dish. Place peanut butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Bring sugar, cocoa powder, and milk to a rolling boil. Boil for one minute. Pour mixture over peanut butter and vanilla. Beat for one minute, until thick. Pour into greased baking dish. Allow to cool before slicing.