Peanut Butter Fudge is one of those surprisingly good Christmas candies. Usually, it probably gets lost in the sea of brightly decorated sugar cookies and all the chocolate covered sweets that we love to make! But… this unassuming little piece of candy deserves a second glance. You have creamy, sweet, salty, crunchy all at once and it is my hubby’s favorite thing ever 🙂 And that is saying something because he is so picky about what he will eat. Jesus him if he should ever need to be on a specific diet!
Why is Peanut Butter easy to make?
I’m not sure why 🙈. I do know that it takes far less time and effort than making cookies or cake.
Basically it is done in two steps. The first one is to cook the first four ingredients to softball stage which only takes 3-5 minutes usually. A candy thermometer is a must have for this recipe to turn out consistently every time. I wouldn’t recommend guessing! The second step is to stir in the remaining ingredients as soon as you remove the pan from the stove. The syrup will start setting up very quickly! The peanuts on top are optional but recommended if you love that sweet and salty combo.
If you live in the south then you will know that the perfect drink to pair with this candy is a coca-cola!
In my Orange-Cranberry Christmas Rolls post I was warning/complaining about the way my mixer moves all over the counter while kneading dough. So! I’m excited to say that Kitchen Aid has had some great sales going this past week and I was able to upgrade to a new mixer 🤩. I had it on my doorstep in two days! Now I can’t wait to use it and I hope that it doesn’t dance while it works 🙂 I will add a link to the exact mixer that I have down below.
Happy Friday!
Peanut Butter Fudge
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup half & half
- 4 tbsp corn syrup
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup marshmallow cream
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup salted cocktail peanuts
Instructions
- Over low/medium heat add the first four ingredients to a large saucepan.
- Whisk the ingredients until the sugar has melted and everything is combined. Allow mixture to come to a low simmer. Using a spatula scrape the sugar down from the sides of the pan.
- Place a candy thermometer into the saucepan. Allow sugar mixture to simmer until it reaches soft ball stage- which is 235 degrees.
- Remove pan from the heat and set the thermometer aside.
- Stir in the final four ingredients and 1/2 cup of the peanuts until completely melted and combined.
- Pour into a buttered 9-inch baking pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of peanuts over the top, pressing down slightly. ** I line the pan with parchment paper to make removal easier!
- Allow to set up for 2-3 hours or overnight. Place the fudge in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to make slicing into squares easier!
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