12 Days of Christmas Cookies
This Easy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge is rich and chocolaty with a smooth, creamy texture! It absolutely melts in your mouth! A little burst of Andes peppermint brings the holiday cheer!
Here we are! Day 12 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies! I thought we should end on a chocolate note. And there is no better chocolate note than dark chocolate fudge.
Fudge.
Fudge is awesome.
I started a little tradition in college where every December I would make three types of fudge for my friends and favorite teachers: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and a wild card.
Unbeknownst to me, my Dad also made fudge for his friends at Christmastime in college. This is not his recipe – I started making his recipe for old-fashioned fudge two nights ago at 11 PM not realizing that it takes HOURS. Hours.
And around 3 AM there was an incident: an irreparable incident. I’m not going to get into it. It’s too painful.
So today I bring you My Fudge. I use the tried and true Carnation recipe. It’s easy, silky smooth and fabulously chocolaty! It tastes almost identical to old fashioned fudge except it doesn’t require a candy thermometer or that hours of your life be spent watching a pot that takes forever to come to temperature.
For a bit of Christmas cheer I sprinkled on chopped Andes Peppermint candies. I’m not a fan of crushed peppermints on top of my baked goods, so these Andes pieces were perfect. They add the delicious peppermint flavor without detracting from the silky smooth texture of the fudge.
They also cut a bit of the sweetness of the fudge. Not that I have every turned down a piece of fudge because it’s too sweet…
This recipe is unbelievably easy and it takes under 20 minutes to get it chilling in the fridge!
You will love this smooth, chocolate peppermint fudge!
My Easy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge is for the twelfth day of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies! You won’t want to miss the Grandmas Old Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies, Festive Almond Crinkle Cookies, No Bake Gingersnap Brandy Balls, Chocolate Pecan Tassies, Molasses Sugar Cookies, Old Fashioned Gingersnaps, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Old Fashioned Oat Lace Cookies, Raspberry Linzer Cookies, Holiday Bark or Cherry Pecan Cookies!
This Easy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge is rich and chocolaty with a smooth, creamy texture! It absolutely melts in your mouth! A little burst of Andes peppermint brings the holiday cheer!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- 1 ½ cups (9 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine (even chocolate chips)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Andes peppermint candies (if you can’t find the white chocolate peppermint, the traditional crème de menthe ones would also be delicious!)
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch square baking dish with foil. Try not to have too many wrinkles because it will be impressed in your fudge.
- In a large, heavy gauge saucepan, add the sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil, then continue cooking (still stirring) for 5 minutes.
- Immediately add marshmallows and chocolate. Stir vigorously until the marshmallows and chocolate have melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour fudge into your prepared pan and sprinkle the peppermint candies on top, pressing down slightly to meld them with the fudge.
- Chill for 2 hours or until firm. Pick up the foil and fudge from the baking pan, remove the foil from around the fudge and cut into squares on a cutting board with a large sharp knife.
Notes:
The original recipe makes 48 small squares of fudge. I cut mine a lot large than that for the photos. If you want yours the same size as mine, then cut it into 16 squares.
Tis the Season for festive desserts!
No Bake Gingersnap Brandy Balls
Grandma’s Molasses Sugar Cookies
Spiced Apple Cider Cranberry Cupcakes
Soft Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
18 Comments
Chichi
December 20, 2014 at 11:28 pmLove how easy this recipe is. Looks really delicious and as always beautiful photography.
AmericanCooking22
December 21, 2014 at 7:27 pmThanks, ChiChi! You are too sweet!
David @ Spiced
December 21, 2014 at 8:46 amWait…this is already the 12th day of cookies?? Where did the previous 11 go? And more importantly, what in the heck am I going to do without a cookie-a-day in my inbox each morning? I vote we turn this into 365 days of cookies. Yes! I like this plan. I’m looking forward to each and every one of your next 353 cookies…starting tomorrow! 🙂
AmericanCooking22
December 21, 2014 at 7:28 pmHaha! You are going to give me a coronary! Besides, if I posted only cookies, wouldn’t you miss the cupcakes? #trumpcard
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
December 21, 2014 at 4:45 pmOh golly molly, look at that fudge. Fudge is my weakness, it’s my love, it’s my support system – I just want a few pieces of your recipe right now!
AmericanCooking22
December 21, 2014 at 7:35 pmBAHAHA! Support system – that is a perfect description! I put it in the freezer to try and ration it…but it didn’t work. It is delicious frozen and it thaws super fast!!!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
December 21, 2014 at 6:04 pmLOVE THIS! Peppermint fudge is my jam.
AmericanCooking22
December 21, 2014 at 7:35 pmlol! I knew you’d like it! Chocolate + peppermint = perfect christmastime pairing! Much like the chocolate and pb of Winter.
Mira
December 21, 2014 at 11:01 pmI love peppermint fudge! Looks thick and delicious! Definitely have to try this recipe 🙂
AmericanCooking22
December 21, 2014 at 11:14 pmThanks, Mira!~
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
December 22, 2014 at 9:04 amThis fudge looks fantastic, Lindsey! Peppermint is my favorite holiday flavor and I’m loving that you combined it with dark chocolate. And I love the peppermint bits on top, too. Pinned!
marcie
December 22, 2014 at 11:07 amdark chocolate and peppermint are one of my very favorite combinations, so this fudge is right up my alley! It’s so pretty and festive! pinned. 🙂
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter
December 23, 2014 at 6:54 amFudge is my weakness. I love easy fudge that doesn’t’ require a candy thermometer either. This looks absolutely perfect and I love the pretty peppermint bits on top!
AmericanCooking22
December 25, 2014 at 6:15 pmMine too. I could eat it all day everyday!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
December 26, 2014 at 5:59 pmI still love that fork.
This fudge looks sooo chocolatey and the peppermint on top is pretty and festive AAND tasty!
AmericanCooking22
December 28, 2014 at 12:39 amHaha! Me too! Thanks, love!
Sophie
December 27, 2014 at 7:17 amThis fudge looks awesome! But they don’t sell candy canes here in Belgium! What else could I use? Other candy?
AmericanCooking22
December 28, 2014 at 12:37 amThey aren’t actually candy canes but Andes peppermint candies (they are soft and chewy as opposed to crunchy). You could try a white chocolate ganache that has been flavored with a bit of peppermint extract. That should have a similar flavor and texture!