Chocolate Pecan Fudge

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Whenever I taste fudge, memories of family vacations to Mackinac Island come flooding back.

Mackinac Island is a very, very small island in northern Michigan. The perimeter of the island is only 9 miles. And on this tiny little island are over a dozen fudge shops.

Fun fact: Mackinac Island has the most fudge shops per square mile in the entire world! (I’m actually not sure if that’s true, but it probably is.)

Each fudge shop has different flavors and different methods for making the fudge, but they all have one thing in common: creamy fudge that melts in your mouth.

That’s the standard all fudge should live up to. And that’s the standard I expect my fudge to meet.

I’ve been making fudge with my Yia Yia and mom for years. And honestly, this recipe is probably one of the easiest recipes on my blog. The trick is to work quickly and make sure it doesn’t cool before you pour it. Also, the secret ingredient is marshmallow cream. I’ve tried making fudge without marshmallow cream, and it just doesn’t turn out right.

You can also try mixing things up by substituting chocolate chips for butterscotch and pouring caramel in the center to make turtle fudge!

Chocolate Pecan Fudge

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup Challenge butter
• 1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

 Directions

1. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil. Let the edges of the aluminum foil extend over the sides so the fudge is easy to life out later. Set the pan to the side.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add sugar and evaporated milk and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a full rolling boil, stir constantly for five minutes.
3. Remove saucepan from heat, add chocolate chips, and stir. Once the chocolate chips have melted, add the marshmallow cream and stir until combined. Then add the vanilla and the pecans.
4. Pour the fudge into the pan and spread the mixture until it’s evenly distributed. Let the fudge cool for about 4 hours before lifting it out of the pan and cutting it into squares.

For years, I thought this was my grandma's secret recipe, but it turns out that it was adapted from the Fantasy Fudge recipe by Kraft.