This is a big plus to attending Thanksgiving on my side of the family: Marcella’s Fudge may be eaten before dinner. It is right there with the appetizers.
Most of us thought Marcella was a relative from the Old Country (Wisconsin). My sister, Janie and I only just asked this year… turns out Marcella was the wife of one of my dad’s co-workers from a long ago job. Well, THAT surprise inheritance just went *poof.*
Whenever our mom made Marcella’s Fudge, she’d leave a knife sitting right in the pan in the ‘fridge. We grew up feeling fully entitled to taking a chunk whenever.
Janie is the master maker of Marcella’s Fudge; she brings massive quantities to every function – with and without walnuts, cut into various sized pieces. It is creamy, dense, and melts in your mouth. None of us even bothers making it ourselves; Janie makes enough for all of us to take home leftovers. She is nice that way.
Every cook should have a good fudge recipe. Just make sure the walnuts you use are really fresh, incredible difference (we’re really proud of our California walnuts). Now that I’m not related to Marcella, I have no loyalty to keeping her recipe a secret. Here, take it!
Marcella’s Fudge
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2 cups sugar
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5 oz. can evaporated milk
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4 oz. margarine
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1 12-ounce pkg. chocolate chips
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1 tsp. vanilla
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3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Spray an 8 x 8-inch pan with nonstick spray. In a heavy saucepan, mix together sugar, milk and margarine. Bring to a boil. Boil exactly 6 minutes; stir constantly. Turn heat off. Beat chocolate chips into the mixture. Add vanilla; beat for 3 minutes. Add nuts, if desired. Pour into pan, chill.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
thanks! you just saved me (and my family) from Chocolate overload!! I bought the bigger bag, but it seemed like too much. It’s cooking as I type! Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Hi Patti! So what size is a “large” bag of chocolate chips??? the regular bag or the 24 ounce bag?
Patti comments: Good eye! It’s the 12-oz, I just fixed the recipe, thanks for that. Marcella = bad recipe writer.
We may have to follow Janie’s lead & take this to OUR family gatherings…so everyone can GATHER ‘ROUND it!!
Thanks, Patti!
Nice, Patti – one even I can make. MB
Thanks Pattyi! Can’t wait to try this one!
Can I substitute peanut butter for chocolate chips, or do I need to adjust the margarine too??? If not, do you have a peanut butter fudge recipe. Thanks!
Patti comments: my family never strays from the original version, but I would bet you could use half chocolate and half peanut butter chips with success.
This fudge looks great! Question: do we beat in the chips with a spoon or a mixer? Thanks for posting this recipe. I would love to make this for my students.
Patti comments: wooden spoon.