Super Easy No-Cook Fudge

You don't want to miss this one!

The holidays are upon us and in our house, holidays mean goodies!  I may be jumping the gun just a tiny bit but I want to make sure I have time to share all of my favorites.

This recipe has been a favorite in my house for many years.  I think my mom originally got it off of a product label, but I'm not sure.  (We memorized it the first year and never looked back!)  The variations, however, are entirely mine.

So, without further ado, here it is!

Super Easy No-Cook Fudge

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Melt chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl for a couple of minutes- stirring after every 30 seconds just until melted and smooth. Quickly stir in the milk and then the nuts.  Spread the mixture in the bottom of a foil-lined and greased 8x8 inch pan.  Chill for a couple of hours.  Cut it into pieces and leave out for an hour or so. (This step will keep the pieces from sticking together when stored.  Of course, if you live in my house, the fudge won't make it past the first hour after I make it!)

Try other variations-

Mint Fudge:
Replace the milk chocolate with mint chocolate and leave out the nuts.

Coconut Fudge: (this one's Rock's favorite!)
Replace all of the chocolate with white chocolate, replace the nuts with coconut and add 1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring.

Cherry Fudge:
Replace the nuts with chopped maraschino cherries and add 1 teaspoon cherry flavoring.

Peanut Butter Fudge:
Use all milk chocolate, replace the walnuts with chopped peanuts, and add a 1/4 cup peanut butter with the milk.

Enjoy!

Korrina


Almond Joys/Mounds Candy

This is one of several recipes that my mom has been making for years and years.  When I was a kid, we used to make probably 20 different kinds of candy (many of them dipped chocolates).  She still makes a lot, but not near as much as back then.  This recipe was one of our favorites.  The best thing about it is being able to tweak the recipe to your own likes.  I love the nuts in Almond Joy and I love the dark chocolate in Mounds.  With this recipe I can make "Almond Mounds!"  So here it is:

Almond Joys/Mounds Clone

1/4 pound butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
14 ounces shredded coconut
1 cup whole toasted almonds
1 bag chocolate chips (milk for Almond Joy, semisweet for Mounds)
Mix together the first 3 ingredients. With your hands, roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. Stick an almond in each one for Almond Joy.  Melt chocolate in microwave-safe dish, stirring after every 30 seconds or so. Dip the balls in melted chocolate and place on foil-covered baking sheet.  Chill until firm.

This is another one of those not-so-healthy recipes that I tend to share but then again, we tend to give away most of the treats we make anyway!

Enjoy!
Korrina

Caramel Corn

Time for another treat!  This week it's my caramel corn recipe.  About 15 years ago, I worked at one of those caramel corn places in a mall down in Phoenix and I adapted the recipe for home use.  This is that recipe!

Korrina's Caramel Corn

3/4 cup unpopped popcorn or 2 bags microwave popcorn

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pop the popcorn. Mix sugars, water, and corn syrup in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring often to melt sugar.  Add butter and cook to firm ball stage (245-248 degrees). Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda. Pour over popcorn and stir quickly!

Enjoy!
Korrina