23 Favorite Holiday Fudge Recipes to Celebrate in Style (2025)

FAQs

What is the most popular fudge? ›

After years of testing recipes, we're pretty sure we have a handle on the most popular fudge flavors, but chocolate and cherry will always rank high on the list. Chopped almonds also pair well with these flavors so be sure to include them if you have spare nuts on hand.

You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).

Classic flavors like chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, and butterscotch continue to be favorites. Get adventurous with unique flavors such as cookies and cream, salted caramel, white chocolate, walnuts, pie fudge, and eggnog fudge.

Chocolate Fudge: An American Invention

On Valentine's Day, 1886, a confectioner and chocolate maker in Baltimore, Maryland "fudged" a batch of French caramels. The delicious result? The very first batch of "fudge" ever.

While fudge was not invented on Mackinac Island, it most certainly – and most deliciously – was perfected here.

Although fudge often contains chocolate, fudge is not the same as chocolate. Chocolate is a mix of cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sometimes sugar and other flavorings and is hard and brittle. Fudge is a mixture of sugar, dairy and flavorings that is cooked and cooled to form a smooth, semi-soft confection.

As water gradually evaporates, sugar is concentrated and the temperature of the mixture rises above 100°C (212°F). If there is too much evaporation, when the cooking time is too long, there will not be enough water left in the fudge and it will be too hard.

The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.

Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk. It has its origins in the 19th century United States, and was popular in the women's colleges of the time.

Can you use evaporated milk instead of milk in fudge? ›

Evaporated milk is often called for in fudge recipes, for the creamy milkiness it imparts, and this Rocky Road Fudge is no exception.

Turns out that the two are not quite the same, but they're still equally delicious. Denser and sometimes a bit more crumbly than its American counterpart, British fudge comes in dozens of flavors, and is frequently found in gift shops and at outdoor markets and street fairs.

Michigan Maple Pecan

Made by hand using traditional copper kettles and marble slabs to create the richest and creamiest fudge on Mackinac Island.

When fudge is a verb, it means to avoid straightforwardly answering a question or addressing a subject: "Just answer my question and don't fudge the issue!" Fudge is an American word from college slang meaning "a made-up story." Definitions of fudge.

Fudge is a type of confectionery made with sugar, butter, and milk that often includes cocoa powder or melted chocolate. It has a creamy texture and can be flavored with various ingredients such as nuts, fruits, or spices. Fudge may also contain marshmallow creme or condensed milk to give it an even richer flavor.

Today, there are 13 fudge shops on Mackinac Island, and they're making so much fudge that the island imports 10 tons of sugar per week! Sampling Mackinac Island fudge remains one of the favorite activities of visitors, with chocolate being the most popular (although when President Gerald R.

Though it contains no saltwater, taffy—and fudge, its sister seaside treat—may benefit from being made in a beach climate. Perhaps the salty air simply gives people a hankering for something sweet; it's also possible that the candies' decelerated drying and oxidation in humid air give them a unique “coastal” flavor.

Mackinac Island is where it is believed to have begun. Father and son Henry and Jerome “Rome” Murdick were hired to create canvas awnings for the new Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Using Rome's mother Sara's family recipes from Germany they opened the island's first candy store in 1887.