This old-fashioned fudge recipe is like tasting your childhood all over again—rich, creamy chocolate fudge made from scratch. When cocoa, sugar and milk are cooked together to the perfect degree, the resulting texture is silky smooth, melt-in-the-mouth, and a speck of vanilla adds that familiar insistent flavor that makes it hard to resist. As an evergreen treat, it’s a fine thing to share or to give.
Why You Will Love This Old-Fashioned Fudge:
Genuine Flavor and Texture: This recipe hits that familiar fudge flavor and provides that texture in the sweet spot — creamy but firm enough to give you a solid bite.
Simple Ingredients: You probably already have all the ingredients on hand, as it’s made with pantry staples like sugar, cocoa and butter, so no need to buy any specialty ingredients to make this fudge.
Versatile Treat: Old-fashioned fudge is a fine dessert, a considerate homemade gift or sweet addition to holiday gatherings.
Fool-Proof Creaminess: If you follow those temperature and cooling recommendations, you’ll end up with the exact same quality of fudge every time.
Key Ingredients:
Butter: This recipe splits butter usage: a little bit of butter is used for greasing the pan and the rest is combined with the fudge. Using unsalted butter gives you full control over the flavor.
Granulated Sugar: Sugar provides the backbone and sweetness of the fudge as it combines with the milk and cocoa to form the delicious fudginess.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder contributes deep chocolatey flavor. Use the highest quality unsweetened cocoa you can find; cocoa is going to be the star flavor at the party that is your fudges.
Whole Milk: The fat found in whole milk contributes to the creamy consistency associated with fudge. The texture will be grainier if you skimp on the fat, so whole milk is highly recommended.
Vanilla Extract: Vanilla balances out the chocolate nicely and round out the fudge flavor.
