Aunt Dettie’s Fudge

This recipe for my Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is different than other family fudge recipes because it has an unusual ingredient — marshmallow creme. The recipe has been in my family for generations, but I’m the only one who makes it. Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is a chocolate peanut butter marshmallow fudge with a medium consistency. It pairs perfectly with a cup of peppermint tea and a good movie.

Visiting Uncle Pete and Aunt Dettie

When I was a kid, my parents would take my sister and I on a road trip once year to visit our grandparents in Pennsylvania. That also meant I got to visit my Uncle Pete (technically my great uncle) and his wife Vandetta (affectionately known as Aunt Dettie).

Uncle Pete was the kind of uncle who would roller skate with you even though he was in his 60s. He loved to tinker in his garage and you never knew what creations you might find in there.

Aunt Dettie liked to sit around inside with the other adults, smoke cigarettes, play cards and drink hard liquor. I can still remember the fog of smoke that hung in a haze throughout her home. It was why I spent most of my time outside with Uncle Pete on our visits.

Aunt Dettie’s Fudge

I think the only reason my mother tolerated visits to their home was to get Aunt Dettie’s Fudge. My Aunt Dettie had a recipe she had been making at church bake-offs as long as anyone can remember (so since the 1940s).

Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is chocolately, and it definitely has a hint of peanut butter, but there is something else that makes the taste totally unique. To this day, I’ve never come across a fudge that tastes like hers.

The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient in Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is marshmallow creme, or what the children of the 80s know as marshmallow fluff. The recipe calls for an entire jar. The marshmallow mellows the peanut butter in just the right way.

In comparing this recipe to the thousands of other fudge recipes on the internet, I noticed this recipe calls for evaporated milk instead of the typical sweetened condensed milk. Not sure if that affects the final result, but there is something about the final texture of this fudge that is lighter and creamier than traditional fudge.

Making Fudge — A Labor of Love

For those of you who have ever made homemade fudge, you know it is a labor of love. Compared to baked goods, fudge is fussy.

It reminds me of making a roux for gumbo. You have to constantly monitor it and keep it moving. And even if you hover over it light a helicopter mom, it might not come out right.

With fudge, if you cook it too long, it ends up being too hard or crumbly. If you don’t cook it long enough, it never sets properly leaving you with more of a paste than a fudge.

But when it comes out right? Heaven.

Aunt Dettie’s Fudge — The Hard Truth

In the spirit of full transparency, I have been making this recipe for many, many years and I still screw it up sometimes. As you can see below, I’ve tried some shortcuts but not all of them were successful.

I have had to throw entire batches away and start over, so just give yourself grace if that happens to you and try again. It’s worth it.

Making the Fudge

Here’s a step-by-step rundown of how Aunt Dettie’s Fudge comes together.

First, you’ll melt some butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot. Using cheap stainless steel pots is a bad idea. The bottoms are too thin so the heat transmits too much and the mixture will burn.

This year, I’m using a Caraway pot because I don’t currently own a ceramic Dutch oven (because I burnt my last one to extinction when I left something on the stove and when to the gym). My Caraway pot did the job but was not ideal.

Next you add the cocoa powder. Make sure you use fresh cocoa. The oils in cocoa will go rancid over time, so if you have cocoa powder in the pantry and can’t remember the last time you bought it, throw it away and get a fresh one.

This is also a step where having a sifter comes in handy. I’ve done it without a sifter, but the cocoa powder clumps up and may never mix in completely.

I use my strainer to do the job. You can see that even with sifting, some of the cocoa clumps up. I used the back of a spoon to push those clumps through.

I decided next time that I would sift in the cocoa and not force any of the lumps that don’t break down easily through because I even with the sifter, I ended up with some chocolate that never completely combined which makes me crazy. If you have some dots of chocolate, it doesn’t affect the taste, but the goal is a perfectly uniform color.

I’m using a flexible rubber whisk here and making sure to scrape down the sides of the pot as I go.

How Much Sugar?

Once the cocoa is combined, it’s time to add 2 lbs of powdered sugar. Yep. 2 lbs. You need to add the sugar about a cup at a time and whisk it in until it has melted.

This is the more tedious part of the process. It will take you about ten minutes of continuous mixing to get all that sugar in.

It may seem impossible that you can add that much dry powder to just a little bit of liquid, but stick with it. I promise it will all go in.

The Definition of Fudge

Now you have arrived at the most critical part of the process. Getting the liquid to cook to the point that it will set into fudge when you dump it in the pan and let it cool. This is easier said than done.

To get something that we can all recognize as fudge, you need to get your mixture to the soft ball stage.

Once you get all the sugar mixed in, you are going to raise the heat to medium. The goal is to get the mixture to come just to a boil, whisking constantly to keep clumps from forming. This will take several minutes. Once the mixture starts to boil, lower the heat a tad so the temperature remains stable.

Some of you may have a candy thermometer on hand, and I would encourage you to use it if you have it. There is a heat point on a candy thermometer that indicates “soft ball” stage. Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is best when you get it just past the soft ball stage (114℉). You want it to set up a little more dense than soft ball.

If you don’t have a thermometer, I would keep it at a gentle boil for 6 minutes.

For reassurance, Google says to drop a small amount of the mixture into ice water; it should form a soft, pliable ball that doesn’t stick to your fingers and that is how you know you are at soft ball stage.

The Fun Part

Once you’ve gotten the mixture to a boil and let it cook, it’s time to add the final touches and get this thing off the stove.

Have your peanut butter and marshmallow creme at the ready because you need to move fast.

First, add an entire 12 oz jar of peanut butter to the mixture and quickly whisk it in. I turn the burner off for this part, but I leave the pot on the warm burner.

Pro Tip: Use good old fashioned Jif or Peter Pan creamy peanut butter. I have tried this recipe with all kinds of healthier peanut butter options and it just sucks. For the skeptics, I used Justin’s peanut butter in this batch and it wasn’t quite perfect.

Shift the pot off the burner. Add an entire 7oz jar of Marshmallow Fluff. Again, I recommend the one you recognize from your childhood.

I live across the street from a Whole Foods and was shocked to find they even carried marshmallow creme. I laughed out loud when I saw it was labeled as organic. It seemed to work fine, but I’ll go back to the original one next time.

Now We Wait

Once everything is thoroughly combined, you will transfer the mixture to a glass baking dish. This is best done with 2 people — one to hold the pot and one to scrape the mixture out.

I highly recommend using parchment paper as a lining. If your fudge doesn’t set up quite right, you’ll be scraping pieces off the glass. At least with parchment you’ll have a fighting chance at getting a piece that you can eat.

Spread the fudge quickly into an even layer. Use a spatula to smooth out any bubbles. You should see that the mixture is starting to crystallize already.

Let the fudge cool completely on the counter for about an hour. Transfer to the refrigerator overnight or at least 8 hours before trying to cut it.

Once the fudge is set, I cut the entire batch into squares and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. I put parchment paper between the layers.

You can mail this fudge as a gift and it will be fine. Just tell the recipient to put it back in the refrigerator for a few hours for the best consistency. Aunt Dettie’s Fudge will last for MONTHS in the fridge.

Aunt Dettie’s Fudge — Best Way to Enjoy It

Aunt Dettie’s Fudge is rich. One piece will satisfy your sweet tooth. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is with a cup of peppermint tea before bed.

If you try this recipe and it works for you, I’d love to know. If you are an expert fudge maker and have ideas for how to make the recipe for Aunt Dettie’s Fudge more foolproof, I’d love to hear from you.

Need easier dessert ideas? Try Chocolate Tahini Butter Balls which require no cooking or baking.

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