Tried making fudge for the first time last week! Wanted to make my contribution to Kristin and Rick's Happy Hour Engagement party. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, as did I. The espresso really makes the chocolate have a nice coffee/mocha taste. I love coffee flavor anything so I was drawn to this kind of fudge. Found a recipe online and altered it a little to make it even more tasty. Try it out sometime.
Ingredients:
_(3) cups semisweet chocolate [I used (3) 8 oz. boxes of Bakers brand semisweet chocolate and it worked just fine]
_(1) cup chopped pecans (or any nut of your choice)
_(1) 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
_(2) tbsp. of brewed espresso [I used an Italian roast espresso, but any strong brewed coffee will work]
_(1) tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
_Line a 8" x 8" pan with foil and butter the foil for easier removal of fudge from pan. Set aside.
_Set up a double boiler on the stove by filling a pot halfway with water and bring water to a boil. Place a metal mixing bowl on top of the boiling pot. Add all the chocolate in. Chocolate will begin to melt from the heat. Keep stirring it as it melts. Double boiler set ups are great because it keeps the chocolate from burning.
_Once the chocolate is all melted add in the vanilla and espresso and stir.
_Pour the condensed milk in slowly at first just so the milk gets used to the temperature and then you can pour the rest all in. Things start to set and thicken pretty fast once you add the milk in so work fast. Add the pecans in right after you've poured in all the milk. Mix until combined/smooth.
_Quickly pour the mixture into the pre-buttered pan. Cover the pan and place in the fridge to set. Should take a couple of hours to set. (I just left mine over night because I didn't need it till the next morning.)
_Once set, remove the fudge from the pan and cut into chunks. Fudge is so dense that a 1" x 1" cube is sufficient for a serving chunk size. Depending on how long you leave the fudge in the fridge, it may be a little hard. So you may want to let it sit out for a little a room temp to soften up (if you can even wait that long...haha...hard to resist the urge to just dig in).
_Enjoy!
(images taken with my phone so they didn't turn out too well, but it gives you a little preview)