Today's Case:
Old Family Fudge Recipe
Re: old family fudge recipe
From: Elizabeth
To: Phaedrus
Date: 12/13/2024, 8:03 AM
On 12/12/2024 6:29 PM, Elizabeth wrote:
Hello,
I came across your website. I am not even sure if you still monitor this email address.
The situation is this, my ex-husband helped himself to my family recipes before the
divorce and my father passed away shortly after the divorce. The family recipe in
question is a very old fudge recipe that was only passed down to the males in the line
on my father's side. I tried to reach out to his brother and have been unsuccessful.
Here is the information that I remember...
It is a very old fudge recipe (The fudge is a harder set fudge - the family story is that
it has been in the family for more than 100 years.) My uncle thinks that it was from
the hershey's cocoa packaging - But I have looked... Lord how I have looked and
cannot find it.
The recipe calls for sugar (I think it was about a cup)
Butter ( I think this was 1/2 stick)
Milk
vanilla ( I am not positive about this one)
peanut butter ( I am ABSOLUTELY positive about this - I can still picture my dad
using his finger to drop it off the spoon)
cocoa powder.
**The recipe definitely did not call for evaporated milk or corn syrup and no
marshmallow.
our recipe required cast iron pan but I know it was not written in it.
you mixed the sugar and cocoa powder together, then mixed in the milk and
( I am not certain the peanut butter was at this time or not) when it got to softball
stage you mixed in vanilla ( possibly the peanut butter)
then poured it into a buttered dish to set.
Any help you might be able to give would be amazing.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Hello Elizabeth,
As far as I can determine, there has never been a peanut butter fudge recipe on the Hershey’s cocoa can. I have actually contacted Hershey's, and they sent me copies of all of the labels that have been on the Hershey's can. There is no peanut butter fudge recipe on any of them. There may have been one on the back of a peanut butter jar, or there may have been such a recipe in a magazine ad for Hershey’s cocoa or for some brand of peanut butter, but not on the Hershey’s cocoa can.
Below is the closest recipe that I can find to your description. Don't reject it because of some minor detail that doesn't seem to match your memory. My experience in 25 years of searching for lost recipes is that our memories are usually not as accurate as we think they are. Make the fudge using this recipe. Go by taste, not by your memory of your dad making the fudge. This recipe may not match your dad's exactly, but it may make the same fudge with different portions of ingredients. The first time, go by this recipe exactly. If it is seems too sweet, make it again using 2-1/2 cups of sugar. If it is still too sweet, make it again with 2 cups of sugar. (1 cup of sugar does not seem to be enough for this recipe) If it is too chocolatey or not enough, make it again with less or more cocoa. Adjust the amount of peanut butter, if you need to.
Phaed
Old Fashion Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
2/3 Cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 Cups sugar
1/8 teasp. Salt
1 1/2 Cups milk
1/4 Cup Butter (1/2 stick)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter
Grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Set aside. Butter sides of sauce pan.
Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir to blend, then
bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it reaches full boil.
Stop stirring til it reaches next stage.
Place candy thermometer in pan and cook until temperature reaches 238 degrees F
(114 degrees C). You should not need to cook the fudge longer than 15 minutes
to get it to 238. If you are not using a thermometer, then cook until a drop of this
mixture in a cup of cold water forms a soft ball. Use clean dry spoons for testing.
Feel the ball with your fingers to make sure it is the right consistency.
It should flatten when pressed between your fingers.
Remove from heat. Add butter or margarine, peanut butter and vanilla extract
once it has cooled to the mid 100s - takes about 7 minutes. Beat with a wooden
spoon until the fudge just loses its sheen. Do not under beat.
Pour into prepared (buttered) pan and let cool. Cut into about 60 squares.
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I also found a recipe with those ingredients but no amounts or how to cook it.
I'm going to experiment in a small version and if it turns out I'll gladly share it
with you.
