Have you heard of Christmas Crack? It’s a layered candy dessert of saltines, toffee and chocolate that is sweet, salty and – you guessed it – seriously addictive. I wanted to turn this classic Christmas holiday treat into a new chocolate fudge variation. This recipe is similar to the Turtle Caramel Pecan Fudge I posted last week, but instead of pecans and caramel we’re loading the semisweet chocolate up with saltines and toffee bits.

The bottom layer is a layer of saltine crackers. I think a big reason this fudge is hard to stop eating is because of the saltines. I hadn’t eaten saltines in forever, but as soon as I opened the sleeve for this recipe I couldn’t stop munching them! So before we even add the chocolate we’re already in a losing battle. Unless your goal is to bring a dessert that gets wiped out first at the potluck, in which case you definitely would be winning that battle!

Anyways, on top of the salty cracker layer I added half a batch of the smoothest ever chocolate fudge that has been loaded with crunchy toffee bits. Why half a batch? Well that’s because we’re doing a second layer of saltines followed by the second half of fudge! Christmas Crack is normally very thin so I wanted to add two layers of saltines so the salty element of the treat would come through. On top we have more toffee bits. I think I went a little light on these; the sweet toffee flavor is so good so feel free to top it to your heart’s content!

I already find the original World’s Smoothest Chocolate Fudge addicting so having the salty saltines and sweet toffee bits made it that much harder to resist. So we just ate a bunch and then gave the rest away so we wouldn’t have to fight the urge to eat the whole batch. You’ve been warned! When you cut this fudge, the saltine crackers on the bottom break off everywhere so you could spread a thin layer of chocolate down first if you want, but I found it still had enough crackers making it the way I listed in the recipe below.

One other element of this recipe that I want to discuss is our method for making this fudge. If you’ve read or made any of my other fudge recipes you will know that I always use a double boiler to melt the chocolate evenly without it getting burnt. I use and love this universal double boiler since it’s inexpensive and fits on any pot. However, when I was making this last batch, I was thinking about how I make chocolate ganache by warming the liquid in a nonstick pot and then adding the chocolate chips and letting them melt. I figured I would give it a shot with the fudge since using the double boiler is easy, but if I could use just one pot instead of two, it would be even easier.

I’m so glad I tested it because it worked! I made sure to use low heat the entire time and I was constantly stirring the mixture to make sure none of the chocolate burned. So if you don’t have a double boiler and don’t feel like buying one then definitely give it a try with my new instructions below! Happy Friday, everyone!

Saltine Toffee Fudge aka Christmas Crack Fudge

 

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Yield: 32 to 64 pieces depending on how small you cut them

Ingredients

• 25 saltines (a little less than 1 full sleeve)
• 1 ounce Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• One 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup toffee bits, plus more for topping

Directions

1. Line an 8" x 8" pan with wax paper with some overhang so it’s easy to pull the fudge out of the pan. It is easier if you crunch up the wax paper in your hands then smooth out into the pan. Layer 16 saltines on the bottom. They will be overlapped a little.
2. Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a medium nonstick pan over low heat, stirring regularly with a heatproof spatula to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.
3. Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and stir to combine. Let the mixture get a little warm then pour in half the bag of chocolate chips. Stir to help melt. Once partially melted add the rest of the bag of chocolate chips and stir until fully melted, being sure to scrape the bottom as you stir. Stir in the vanilla extract and remove from the heat. Add the toffee bits and stir to combine.
4. Pour half the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan onto the saltine layer and smooth the top with the spatula. Make a new layer of 9 saltines then pour over the remaining half of the chocolate mixture, smoothing the top. Top with additional toffee bits. Refrigerate until the fudge is set; I usually let mine set overnight. Carefully pull the fudge out of the pan using the wax paper overhang, place on a large cutting board and cut into bite size squares with a clean, sharp knife. I usually cut mine into quarters and then cut each quarter into 16 pieces to get 64 pieces. Best eaten straight from the fridge.

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Lauren Christmas, Dessert, Holiday, Recipes 0 Comments

I have some more fudge for you today and you will not want to miss this one! This is the first non-chocolate fudge variation I’ve posted, but that’s okay because we have peanut butter. If you are someone that likes to eat peanut butter off a spoon and lives for the center of a Reese’s then you will love this creamy peanut butter fudge.

It has the same smooth texture of the original fudge that you get from using sweetened condensed milk instead of granulated or powdered sugar. The fudge has just the right amount of sweetness and a hint of vanilla letting the peanut butter flavor really shine through.

You can thank my former boss, Darcy, for this creation! Two years ago I set out to attempt to convert my fudge recipe into a peanut butter version after Darcy said that was her favorite flavor. I swapped the bag of chocolate chips for peanut butter chips and used a white chocolate baking square instead of the unsweetened chocolate one so there wouldn’t be any cocoa flavor in the fudge. Finally, I got rid of the butter and added in peanut butter. Normally just peanut butter on its own isn’t a great swap for butter in baking, but since we’re making candy and only using two tablespoons I figured I would give it a shot.

The end result was peanut butter perfection and I’ve been making it this way ever since! I was so excited it worked out since not all my variation attempts have been successful. One of the versions I was hoping to post this year did not set up quite right, but that just prompted me to come up with an even better flavor idea that I will be sharing next Friday!

Now back to this addicting peanut butter version. I make a note about it in the recipe, but I’ve only ever made this with creamy “regular” peanut butter, like Jif, so I can’t guarantee you will get the same results if you use the type of peanut butter that you have to stir because the oil separates. Usually that type of peanut butter doesn’t work as well in baked goods and treats. Also, as I say with all the fudge, I think this tastes best eaten cold straight from the fridge. Yum!

Peanut Butter Fudge

 

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Yield: 36-64 pieces depending on how big you cut them

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Baker's white chocolate baking squares
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, like Jif
• One 12-ounce bag peanut butter chips
• 1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line an 8" x 8" pan with wax paper and set aside.
2. Melt peanut butter and the Baker’s chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour in half the bag of peanut butter chips and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula to help melt. Once partially melted add the rest of the bag of peanut butter chips and stir until fully melted.
4. Carefully stir in the condensed milk to combine and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
6. Refrigerate until the fudge is set then cut into bite size pieces. Best eaten straight from the fridge.

Notes

I have only made this with creamy Jif-type peanut butter. I can not guarantee the same results with a natural peanut butter (the type you have to stir because the oil separates). Also, a peanut butter with less sugar might not taste sweet enough.

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Lauren Christmas, Dessert, Holiday, Recipes 0 Comments

It’s not even December, but I can’t help diving into holiday season content. I just have too many recipes I’m excited to share! Normally I don’t start listening to Christmas music until December, or at the very least I wait until Thanksgiving is over, but I’ve been seriously in a holiday mood this year. I think it was all the baking I was doing the week before Thanksgiving and the early snow we got here in New England, but I have to confess that I had Christmas music playing in my kitchen two weeks ago. Oops!

If there’s one dessert that is guaranteed to get me in the Christmas spirit it has to be Diane’s fudge. I love my stepmom’s classic fudge recipe (and you all do too – it’s the most popular recipe on Lemon & Mocha!), but I love all the fun variations I’ve made over the years even more. I’ve shared S’mores Fudge – crazy good – and Chocolate Peppermint Fudge – so Christmasty!

Today, we’re all about the Turtle Caramel Pecan Fudge. In case you aren’t familiar, chocolate turtles are chocolate covered pecans with caramel inside and they kind of look like little turtles. I wanted to take those flavors and bring them into this classic semi-sweet chocolate fudge. The end result was messy, but so good!

The chopped pecans are folded into the fudge so you get a little crunch in each bite. The caramel is drizzled on the fudge then swirled in before the fudge sets.

I used Smucker’s salted caramel sauce since I love how quick it is to whip together a batch of fudge so I didn’t want to over-complicate it with homemade caramel. Do you think you will try this twist?

Turtle Caramel Pecan Fudge

 

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Yield: 36-64 pieces depending on how big you cut them

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• One 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ⅓ cup caramel, see note

Directions

1. Line an 8" x 8" pan with wax paper and set aside.
2. Melt butter and the Baker’s chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour in half the bag of chocolate chips and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula to help melt. Once partially melted add the rest of the bag of chocolate chips and stir until fully melted.
4. Carefully stir in the condensed milk to combine and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and the pecans.
5. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top of the fudge and use a knife to swirl into the fudge.
6. Refrigerate until the fudge is set then cut into bite size pieces. Best eaten straight from the fridge.

Notes

Your caramel should be soft enough to drizzle off a spoon. If it’s too firm from being in the fridge, heat it slightly.

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Lauren Christmas, Dessert, Holiday, Recipes 0 Comments