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Can you believe it’s already December? This month, we’re excited to feature chocolate desserts, starting with this insanely delicious chocolate peanut butter fudge. You could wrap it up as gifts — or just devour it all yourself. Kamran from Sophisticated Gourmet (and the beautiful new cookbook Hand Made Baking) shares his easy recipe…
Peanut Butter Fudge
by Kamran Siddiqi of Sophisticated Gourmet
This peanut butter fudge is meant to be shared with your favorite people during the holidays, and the best part is that it doesn’t require much effort or the use of thermometers and other special equipment. It’s perfect for this time of the year—no headaches, very little effort and tons of satisfaction.
There’s a nice sweet and salty combination going on here, especially if you go the extra mile and top the fudge with a little melted chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt. (I used Maldon, but fleur de sel or the teeniest pinch of regular fine grain sea salt works well, too!) The chocolate and the salt balance out the richness of the fudge, making each bite pure happiness.
I’ve been making this around the holidays for the past few years and it’s perfect to bring to parties, use as stocking stuffers (put in baggies with cute ribbon), or have out on the table during coffee time. Who said it’s wrong to indulge a bit?
Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
What you’ll need:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
1 lb light Muscovado sugar (you can also use soft dark brown sugar)
½ cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
2 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
sea salt for sprinkling (optional, but recommended)
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan along with the ground nutmeg.
With a wooden spoon, stir in the brown sugar and milk, removing any lumps, and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes without stirring.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla, then the peanut butter.
Put the powdered sugar in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Then, pour the hot peanut butter and sugar mixture on top of the powdered sugar, and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Pour into an 8-inch square baking pan, cover the top with parchment, and press down to smooth out the top (I use another 8-inch pan to do this). Set aside to cool slightly (10 minutes should do), then place in the fridge to cool completely.
Turn the fudge out of the tin onto the parchment and cut into 36 squares (or smaller, if you prefer).
Melt the chocolate, and add a thin layer to top of each piece of fudge. Allow the chocolate to set, and sprinkle each piece of fudge with a few grains of flaky sea salt.
Store in an airtight container.
Thank you so much, Kamran!
P.S. More recipes, including Nutella-stuffed cookies and salted caramel brownies.
(Photos and recipe by Kamran Siddiqi. Thanks to Caroline Donofrio for helping with this series.)
