Homemade Fudge--the Easy Way

The first year Jason and I were dating I made him chocolate truffles for Valentine's Day and presented them in a white tin with a bright red ribbon. It was his favorite gift that year. Now it is an integral part of our annual Valentine's Day celebration--every year I make him some sort of homemade treat and give it to him in that same white tin. One year was linzer cookies while another was chocolate dipped shortbread hearts. This year I decided to make fudge.

Speaking of Valentine's Day--get a load of this awesome dinner Jason made for me last night. Bacon-wrapped scallops, skillet roasted potatoes, and asparagus! YUM.

The traditional method of making fudge can be a little daunting as it requires a candy thermometer and boiling the chocolate mixture until it reaches a certain temperature, etc. I haven't quite mastered that art yet (there was the burned doughnut incident last fall and a failed attempt at making homemade marshmallows around Thanksgiving), so I decided to take the easy road in order to make sure Jason's Valentine's Day was a good one. All you do is melt chocolate, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, and butter and cool the mixture for a few hours. It's as simple as that. If you want to get crazy you can add some additional flavorings-- cinnamon, espresso powder, even chili powder-- are good ways to personalize it for that special someone in your life. It's the perfect chocolate treat--any time of year.

Quick and Easy Fudge
Adapted slightly from Giada di Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (I used a mixture of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate but you can use either/or depending your preference)
3 TBL butter, room temperature

1. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and line with a 14 inch piece of parchment paper.
2. Fill a sauce pan with 1-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Meanwhile, mix sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and espresso powder (or other flavorings) together in a glass bowl. Add chocolate and butter. Place bowl on top of the barely simmering water.
3. Stir chocolate mixture until it is smooth and everything has melted together. It will be really thick. Use a rubber spatula to scrape fudge into the prepared baking dish. Smooth the top and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Lift the parchment-lined fudge out of the baking pan and cut into squares. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat.