PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

This is a wonderful fudge. If you like peanut butter this is for you. I don't even like peanut butter and I love it.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk*

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add milk and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil two minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add vanilla and peanut butter. Mix well with a portable mixer or stir like crazy with a spoon. Pour over powdered sugar--I sift mine first--and mix with a mixer, again, or stir like crazy with a spoon, until all sugar is incorporated. Pour into an 8 inch square pan. Chill, cut and serve.

*We don't keep milk in the house so I put about 2/3 of a half-cup measure full of canned milk and fill the rest of the cup with water--it works fine.

PS It's best eaten warm, right out of the bowl. Don't tell anyone. Only the one who makes the fudge should have that information.

PPS I have made batches and batches of this. Everyone who tries it loves it. This takes less than fifteen minutes to make.

MUDDY BUDDIES--right off the CHEX cereal box

9 cups Chex cereal(I prefer the corn or rice or a combination of the two but think the wheat would be a better nutritional choice--as if that is going to make this recipe nutritious.)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Heat chocolate chips and peanut butter over very low heat, stirring. The box says to use a microwave for 1 minute on high, stir, microwave 30 seconds longer but we don't use a microwave so I don't know if this is accurate or not. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over the cereal, stirring to coat. Sift powdered sugar over the top and mix well. OR put cereal into a 2-gallon resealable food-storage bag, sift powdered sugar over the top, close bag and shake to mix. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

CHEAPER FUDGE

I was making fudge today--5 batches for my kids goodie tins and my Aunt Dorothy. She's 96 and so help me, she could eat fudge, caramels and pork fat every day and her arteries will remain clean and clear. Since I didn't have any marshmallow cream I decided to experiment with my favorite fudge recipe. Turned out pretty good. Here it is.

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2/3 up canned milk
1 1/2 cup sugar
20 regular sized marshmallows

Melt all together, slicing the marshmallows in half as they get warm. Stir constantly with a flat wooden spoonish thing. I guess it's a wooden spatula. Cook over medium heat (it's hard for me to do that, my only two stove temperatures being "high" and "off" but I forced myself). As soon as it boils set the time for 3 1/2 minutes. Stir constantly. When the timer rings remove from the heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Stir until chocolate is melted and pour into an 8 or 9 inch square pan that has been coated with butter or butter flavored vegetable spray. Let cool. Cut into squares and put into decorative tins and give to your kids who will think you are wonderful. Or, they better, that's all I have to say.

*When making this for young children I use 2 cups milk chocolate chips and one of semi-sweet.

SALTINE TOFFEE

Someone brought this to our Christmas Enrichment and people couldn't keep their hands off it. It's very good and very easy. I haven't tracked down who brought it was so I got the recipe off "All Recipes" They show a picture made with white chocolate. The person who brought these to Enrichment used regular chocolate chips--or maybe they were the milk chocolate ones--but then drizzled white chocolate over the top. It was very pretty.

1 (10 ounce) package saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup slivered almonds or chopped nuts of choice


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet. Line baking sheet with saltine crackers, edges touching.

Combine butter and brown sugar and cook until mixture reaches 235 degrees F (112 degrees C) or a small amount of mixture dropped into cold water forms a small ball that flattens when placed on a flat surface. Pour mixture over crackers and spread evenly.

Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot toffee. When chips turn glossy, spread evenly with spatula. Sprinkle with almonds. Freeze 20 minutes before serving.

CARAMEL FONDUE--Lynne Snyder

1/2 cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup light corn syrup

Heat until almost boiling. Serve hot with bananas and apples. Bananas are best and I don't even like bananas--usually.

MOUNDS BITS (ALMOND JOY) CANDY BARS

Here's a homemade recipe for the yummy coconut candy bar. This sounds complicated but it's not. You can use milk chocolate for the semi-sweet.

2 C. granulated sugar
1 C. light corn syrup
1/2 C. water
½ teaspoon almond extract
1½ pkgs. (14 oz. per package) flaked coconut
2 T. flour
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips (it may take more chips than this--or you could use dipping chocolate)
almonds, toasted (optional)

In a large heavy pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil. Cook two degrees less then softball stage . Remove from the heat and cool until syrup is just warm* (you will be molding these with your hands so it can be warm only, not hot).

Stir in the almond extract, flour and coconut (in that order). Mold by teaspoonfuls into flat-ish balls, not too big. (They are rich; you don't want very big candies.)

Place on a cookie sheet sprayed heavily with Pam. Place a whole almond on top of each if desired. Allow to set at room temperature several hours or overnight. (If they are too sticky to work with, with let them sit a day or two more until they dry out enough to handle)

Melt chocolate chips or dipping chocolate in microwave for three to four minutes on half power, stir after every minute. Coat candies with melted chocolate—this is messy, I tried dipping them and lost them in the chocolate. I finally just held each one and coated it with chocolate with a spoon.

*If you cannot make the rest of this recipe right now and your syrup gets cold simply put the pan back on the heat, low temperature, and warm, stirring now and then until it is at a workable temperature. I have even made the syrup two days early and then finished the recipe later.

CARMEL CORN—Pat Bradfield--a friend of Lynne's

This is so good. I got the recipe from my best friend years ago.

6 quarts of popcorn minus the ones that don't pop
One or two cups of any kind of nuts you might like. I use cashews.

Boil for 5 minutes and pour over top:
2 cups brown sugar (original recipe--but I think I prefer it with white sugar, it has a more delicate flavor)
2 sticks butter
½ cup dark Karo Syrup (I use light corn syrup)

Add:
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda.

Pour over the popcorn and nuts. Bake at 200° for one hour. Stir at least four times during baking.

CREAMY FUDGE—Maxine Hansen--a friend of Lynne's

Maxine brought this fudge to last year's Christmas Enrichment. It is divine. I made some and gave it to the kids for Christmas. Taylor occasionally asks for a refill.

1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter
1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)
1 ½ cup Jet-Puffed Marshmallow crème
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

lightly butter a foil-lined 9x9x2 inch pan.

Heat sugar, butter, milk and marshmallow crème in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Stir constantly. Boil 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips and vanilla and stir until chips are melted. Add walnuts and spread into pan. Refrigerate.