Mama's Fudge....well not quite!

My Mama (my grandmother) was the BEST cook/baker!! She loved to cook for us all the time and she always spoiled my brother, sister and I with sweet treats. Cookies, brownies, cakes,....you name it....she baked it. And, we ate it! Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember, she would make pounds upon pounds of fudge. Chocolate and peanut butter were our favorites and I am telling you that she made the richest, most sinful piece candy that I have ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot of candy)!

Needless to say, last year, which was our first Christmas without Mama we all sat around and shared our holiday filled memories of her. Of course, I brought up how much I missed her fudge during that time of year....very selfish but so true! Mama knew how much we loved it and she would send over who knows how many tins full of this holiday tradition. Last year, we didn't make any because no one knows her recipe. She never wrote it down...never told anyone. It was her big secret. Today, I decided to crack it and I was determined to make her peanut butter fudge (my brother's favorite).

I started by researching different peanut butter fudge recipes. Who knew there would be so many different ways to make peanut butter fudge?!?! I just kind of winged it and took note of the ingredients that I used. It was really simple and it turned out pretty good....not the same as Mama's because I think she just had the special touch :)

You'll need:

4 cups of sugar

1 cup of milk ( I used whole milk even though we drink skim....you can't have fudge made with skim milk!!)

whole stick of butter ( I was going to use just half a stick but then I went all Paula Deen and just threw the whole thing in)

about 7 to 8 oz of marshmallow creme ( I just used the jar kind)

12 oz of peanut butter ( again...we eat reduced fat but I used the real thing for this recipe)

2/3 cup of flour

Directions

1. I used a 9 x 13 in baking sheet and put wax paper on it to keep the fudge from sticking.

2. Mix your marshmallow creme and peanut butter together in a bowl.

3. In a saucepan, mix the milk, butter, and sugar.

4. Bring these ingredients to a boil and let it boil for a few minutes. ( I boiled mine for 5-6 minutes).

5. Remove saucepan from the heat and pour in the peanut butter/marshmallow creme mixture. Stir.

6. Gradually add in the flour.

7. Once everything is mixed well, spread the mixture on the baking sheet and let cool. I actually put mine in the fridge to cool.

I think next time I'm going to add a pinch of vanilla extract to give it something a little extra.

I can't wait to share this with my family and next up I'm going to start working on Mama's chocolate fudge. Yum!