One Bowl Chocolate Fudge

I like fudge.

Mom never made a lot of fudge, mainly because it always took a while to make and she and I were the only ones who would eat more than a piece or two. So when I found a little recipe booklet with a one-bowl microwave fudge in it – well, picking that up was a no brainer.

One Bowl Chocolate Fudge

Depending on how you cut it, this makes 4 dozen pieces of fudge.

2 8-ounce packages semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Microwave chocolate and condensed milk in a large microwave safe bowl on HIGH for 2 to 300 minutes, or until the chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through the heating time.

Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir in vanilla and nuts (if using). Spread into a greased 8-inch square pan. Refrigerate until firm and cut into squares.

Notes from the Hare

Know what I really like about this recipe? It’s modular. Observe.

Rocky Road Fudge

Add 1-cup miniature marshmallows with nuts and vanilla.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Omit nuts. Drop ½ cup peanut butter by teaspoonfuls on top of fudge. Swirl with knife.

Peppermint Fudge

Omit vanilla and nuts. Stir in ½ cup coarsely crushed peppermint candies.

Coconut Nut Fudge

Add 1-cup flake coconut, toasted, with vanilla and nuts. Garnish with additional coconut.

I’ve added M&M’s to it as well, with good results.

You can use any variety of chocolate you want – milk, semi-sweet, white, dark, etc – but if you plan on making peppermint fudge using white chocolate, it will turn pink (especially if you ground the candies in a blender instead of smashing them on the counter, producing a fine peppermint powder). Still tasty, it just looked a little odd at Christmastime. For Valentine’s Day, though, it would be perfect.