Brown sugar fudge. This recipe uses an old-fashioned method and just a few ingredients to produce a creamy, caramel-flavored fudge you’ll love.
This recipe was inspired by a reader who evoked a memory of mine from my childhood.
Sonja emailed me to ask if I had a recipe for brown fudge. Unfortunately I didn’t, but I had the annoying feeling that I had known for years.
Originally published October 2019.
The mystery was solved when he said in a follow-up email. “The version I’m looking for was super simple, just 5 ingredients. Evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt.
The original source of the recipe was the label of the carnation can.” I recognized that recipe right away.
In the 70s, when Sonja also remembers this recipe for the first time, the Carnation brand printed evaporated milk recipes on the back of the label of their cans
.
Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Fudge, a
souvenir.
In my early days of cooking and baking, I remember cutting out those labels with recipes from the can. Even now I can visualize a small square of fudge that was depicted on the label with that recipe.
Those labels and other handwritten recipes, I remember storing them in a small yellow plastic recipe box. I’m sure there would be a treasure trove of ideas if I ever found it again.
I’m absolutely sure I had that fudge recipe label stored in that box over 40 years ago.
It didn’t take me time to find the recipe from various sources online, once I had the extra details.
Several failed attempts at manipulation during that time also quickly come to mind. However, with six children in the house, even the bad, crystallized fudge was worth eating. None of that was wasted.
Temperature is key to perfect brown fudge
In those days, people still routinely relied on the soft ball stage test to make sweets. A small tablespoon of the boiling caramel would be dropped in ice water.
If the ball was firm but could still be squeezed between the fingers, it was done
.
That, of course, was a very inaccurate way of judging the proper temperature. I bet there were as many failures as there were successes using that method.
The solution for a much more accurate way to ensure a creamy, non-grainy, smooth fudge is to use a decent caramel thermometer. Or any heat-safe thermometer that can reach about 240 degrees F.
A digital food thermometer can be easily purchased quite inexpensively these days. Now I’ve added one to my Amazon store.
The correct temperature for boiling fudge is 236-238 degrees F. As soon as I reached the 236 mark, the heat came out.
I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result! My final chilled fudge was smooth, creamy and had a great caramel flavor. It was irresistible!
I’m sure you know someone who would appreciate a surprise gift of this delicious fudge. With the holidays fast approaching, it’s also an excellent and economical gift idea.
Looking for inspiration for Christmas cookies
?
If you liked this recipe, many will want to check out this great collection of No Bake cookies that was incredibly popular during our last holiday season.
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