did you know that christmas is only 48 days away?  how is that even possible?  well, i guess it’s better that there’s 48 days { and } it’s not christmas eve already.  i started giving baked goods away a few years ago for christmas gifts, it just seems so much more personal than giving a gift card-just to get a gift card.  it’s time to start practicing recipes to narrow down what will go in the goodie bags this year.  i’ve gone through my cookbooks, picked about 20 recipes { and { will start to test them, picking which ones i will bake for the holidays.  first up, this chocolate fudge – recipe is in this awesome {autographed!} cookbook my friend irene gave me by gale gand called chocolate/vanilla.  i omitted the walnuts, though.  for the first time making fudge it came out ok.  for some reason, the chocolate took forever to melt {i think i had the low heat on a little too low} { and } as a result some stuck to the bottom of the pot.  also, the recipe calls to grease the pan – i would recommend lining the pan with greased parchment paper to make for easier releasing { and } cutting.

unsweetened baking chocolate. 

 the mixture needs to get to the soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer.

 as mentioned above, do yourself a favor { and } line your pan with parchment paper.  if you don’t, it makes quite the mess.

packaged for gifting.

creamy dreamy walnut fudge.

ingredients:

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 ¼ cups milk
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

directions:

1. grease a 9-inch square baking pan { and } set aside.
2. in a medium saucepan, stir the chocolate { and } milk over low heat until the chocolate is melted.  add the sugar, corn syrup, { and } salt, hook a candy thermometer onto the pot, { and } cook the mixture to the soft-ball stage (235°f).  add the butter, then scrape the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.
3. beat on medium speed until the mixture begins to lighten in color, 3 to 6 minutes, adding the vanilla in the first minute.  add the nuts { and } continue beating on low-speed until the fudge loses its gloss { and } thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. 
4. pour into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly, preferably with an offset spatula.  let cool completely before cutting into 1-inch squares.