Brown Sugar Fudge, The Old Fashioned Way

Brown Sugar Fudge: This recipe uses an old fashioned method and just a few ingredients to produce a creamy caramel flavored fudge you'll absolutely love.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 10 minutes

COOL TIME: 3 hours

TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 20 minutes

YIELD: 64 squares

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

1 cup Evaporated Milk

1/2 cup Salted Butter (see notes)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup Toasted Pecans or Walnuts (roughly chopped with a chef's knife), optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch pan and line with parchment paper. (This size is important, see the notes).

2. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter slowly over medium-low heat.

3. Add the white sugar, brown sugar and evaporated milk. Increase the heat to medium.

4. Bring to a gentle, consistent boil.

5. Cook until the mixture reaches between 236 and 238 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. Stir only very occasionally, perhaps just a couple of times. Over-stirring can cause crystallization of the sugar and your fudge will seize.

6. As soon as the mixture hits the correct temperature, remove the pan from the heat.

7. Quickly but gently stir in the vanilla extract.

8. Allow this mixture to remain at room temperature until lukewarm. DO NOT try to speed this process up by placing in the fridge or freezer.

9. When cooled to lukewarm, beat the fudge mixture with a wooden spoon until it loses its glossy appearance and begins to thicken more.

10. Stir in the nuts at this point if you are adding them.

11. Pour evenly into the prepared pan.

12. Leave for several hours to set until firm.

13. Lift the fudge out of the pan using the parchment paper and transfer it to a cutting board.

14. Cut into 64 one inch squares, or larger if you prefer.

15. Store in an airtight container. I do like to refrigerate mine once it is cooled completely and cut.

16. If freezing fudge, cut the batch into 4 equal squares, and wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap before placing in an airtight container to freeze. This will allow you to take out one or two of the larger pieces and then cut them into portions as needed.

NOTES:

**I used light brown sugar in this version and the fudge had plenty of caramel flavor when finished.

**I use salted butter but do not add any additional salt to the recipe. If using unsalted butter, you may add a pinch or two of salt if you like.

**Do not confuse evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk. This recipe uses undiluted evaporated milk, measured straight from the can.

**If adding nuts, you should toast them beforehand for best flavor and crunchy texture. Simply place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes, turning them over at about the halfway point.

**This recipe is meant for an 8x8 inch pan. Using a large pan will produce pieces of fudge that are too thin. The measurements for a 8x8 inch pan are:

2 1/2 cups firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 1/4 cups White Sugar

1 1/4 cup Evaporated Milk

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Salted Butter

1 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

The instructions do not change.