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The following is a prose-form recipe for yummy peanut butter fudge. Myrtle was my mother. She passed away on October 20, 2003. Thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web, her peanut butter fudge is enjoyed around the globe.
First, make sure you have the following ingredients:Prepare a 9-10" by 13-15" cake pan by rinsing out the dust, dead crickets, and mouse droppings with scalding hot water, drying it, and spraying it with Pam. Note- My pans may need this full treatment. My mother's didn't.
- 4 cups of sugar
- 1 can of evaporated milk (12 fl. oz.)
- 1 jar of creamy-style peanut butter (18 oz.)
- 1 bag of miniature marshmallows (16 oz.)
- Pam no-stick cooking spray
Place the evaporated milk and the sugar into a 4 quart cooking pot. Heat the mixture on medium heat until it reaches the "soft ball" stage, stirring constantly with a spatula to prevent burning and sticking. Cooks know what this "soft ball" thing means. Nobody else does. The idea is to drop a small bit of the mixture into a glass of water and observe the results. If it's runny, you need to cook it some more. If it forms a soft ball, it's done. If the glass blows up, you've overdone it.
"How," you may be asking yourself, "am I supposed to stir constantly and do this soft ball check business? After all, I've only got two hands!" You take the pot off the burner while you do your checking. Veterans say they can tell when the soft ball stage requirement has been met, without even checking. Here's a hint: when you think it's cooked enough, it probably isn't. The bottom line is - if you over-cook it, it comes out too hard. If you under-cook it, it comes out too soft, and you'll have to eat the "fudge" with a spoon. I've found an easier way - I just continue cooking it for 8 minutes and 20 seconds after it has started boiling. Depending on your cook top and other local conditions, your default time may vary from mine.
When you are satisfied that the mixture is cooked enough, take it off the burner and add the marshmallows and peanut butter. Using a large sturdy spoon, stir the ingredients with great vigor until the marshmallows and peanut butter are melted and thoroughly mixed in. You will not have much time to do this, as the mixture begins setting fairly quickly. Pour the mixture into the cake pan. When and if it hardens, cut it into squares. Mmmm, good!
Your project will go much better if you cut open the bag of marshmallows and scoop out the peanut butter onto a plate before you start cooking. Then you can add those two ingredients much more quickly when it's time to start mixing.
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