Peanut Butter Fudge

Put all ingredients in a 4 quart pot over medium heat. except vanilla, and peanut butter. Don’t try and squeeze this into a smaller pan; it will boil over and make a huge mess all over your stove. Ask me how I know this.

Pretty soon it will all melt together and look pretty and smooth. Stir with a wooden spoon. It will soon start to boil.

When it comes to a rolling boil, that is a boil that you can not stir down, put a snug fitting lid on your pot. Leave the lid on for 3-5 minutes.

The lid will capture the steam rising off the candy syrup and wash down the sides of the pot. This is what they call in the candy making business “sweating the pan.” It’s very, very important. Do not skip the step unless you like fudge with sugar crystals in it instead of perfectly lovely smooth fudge.

While you are sweating the pan, rinse your spoon off in the sink. You want to get off any sugar crystals that may be clinging to it. Don’t skip this either.

After a few minutes of sweating the pan, take the lid off and begin stirring again. You will also want to put a candy thermometer in the pot at this time.

Cook the syrup to 238 degrees Fahrenheit. This is soft ball stage for those of you who are familiar with the candy stages.

When it reaches temp, immediately pull the pot from the stove and pour out the syrup into the bowl from a stand mixer. Only pour out what comes easily; do not scrape out the pot with either the spoon or a spatula. I’m serious. Stop. Leave it there.

The candy syrup will be thick and begin to form a skin on top as it starts to cool. Now add the 2 teaspoons of vanilla and the peanut butter. Let the syrup sit in the pot for about an hour to cool.

You want the syrup to reach about 110 degrees. You can use a clean thermometer, but I just test it by holding my hand to the side of the bowl. When it’s no longer too hot to rest my hand on the outside of the bowl, it’s ready to beat.

Using your mixer, beat it on medium speed with the flat beater. If you are using a Kitchen Aid, speed 6 is just right.

Beat the fudge until the candy loses it’s gloss. It will look a lot like frosting and have lightened in color when it’s ready. Keep in mind, however, that when you stop the mixer some of the gloss will come back. It will still be glossy, definitely gloopy, but not runny. Now is when you stir in the nuts, if you want them.

Scrape the fudge out into a 8×8×2 baking pan that has been coated with either butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Pat the top smooth.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and push the wrap down so it completely touches the surface of the fudge. Then you have to let it cool. Patience. It’s worth the wait.

When it’s firm, cut it and serve. Or sneak it behind everybody’s back and tell them it’s not ready yet. I won’t tell.