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Easy 4 Ingredient Home Made Peanut Butter Fudge

Peanut  butter  fudge  is  an  easy treat  to make.  This  one  take  only 4 ingredients (5  if  you  count  vanilla)   and   if  you  can  manage  to  boil   water  you  have  the  necessary skills  to make it.   It  caters perfectly to  your  sugar  and  peanut  cravings.

Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch

This  is  by no means   a  health  food , and may induce  sugar  comma  if  not   taken  in  moderation ? .  But kidding  aside  this is a  great  alternative to  have  on hand  when  you have a  bunch to   kids  to  entertain (make  sure  that  no one is  allergic  though),  or  when you need a  gluten free  treat  in a  hurry !   Any other  nut  butters  can  be   substituted  as  well.

My kids   love peanut  butter –   but  during  the  school year  we  pretty  much  avoid it  because  the  school is   nut  free campus.   There  haven been a  few  times  when  I    have  accidentally reached  for  it  when  making  school lunches.   In an  abundance of  caution, I   don’t  restock   it  once the   schools  open. Come  summer  break  it is  another    story …

Here is  one  other  think  we  all love – fudge.   This  is  the   must  buy   whenever  we  visit  those  quaint  little towns  and  go looking  for  souvenirs.  My leaner  (read younger) self  had  no problem  buying  a  slab of  fudge from the  farmer’s  market  and  polishing  it  off   before  we  got  home.   There  was  this  maple  syrup fudge   from a  stall is  Vista , years  ago , yum  just  doesn’t  quite  describe it !

Anyway typically   around  Christmas  we  make  chocolate  fudge.  I have s  soft  spot  for  the old  fashioned   chocolate  fudge  -made  from scratch   with  cocoa  and  granulated  sugar.   Making  this  kind  of  fudge  is a  little    tricky.  One  has  to be  pretty attentive  to the  mix the  whole  time  to get  the  right  consistency,  and  it  helps  to  have the  candy thermometer  on hand  too!

Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch

This  peanut  butter  fudge  recipe  on the  other  hand  is a  easy !     No need  for  candy thermometers , or  vigorous  stirring.  5  to  10 minutes  of   active  time  is  all  it  takes .  Just  wait  for  it  to cool  and    slice  and  dig  in !   Look at  the  steps  and  see how  easy it is .

  •  Boil  milk ,butter  and  sugar  for 2  minutes .
  • Turn off the heat  and add peanut butter  and  vanilla.
  • Mix
  • Pour
  • Set

If you   want  to set  it as  hard   candy  –  do not  add   butter.  Butter  softens  the   texture a  little , but  you can  still   see  and  feel the  texture of crystallized  sugar.

Type of  peanut butter  to  use 

You can  use  any type  of  peanut  butter – but  I prefer  the  smooth   variety.   You can   use   store  bought  or  home  made.    The  oil  tends  to separate  in the all natural varieties.  If  that  happens  stir  it  back  into  the mix  before  using.

The  store bought  peanut butter usually has  added  sodium.   There is  no need  to  add  extra  salt  to   this  recipe even if   you were  making  your  own  peanut butter.

making Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch

How  long  to   cook 

Heat the  sugar, milk and  butter  over  medium   heat  stirring  continuously.    It is  important  to   stir   to prevent   the  sugar   from  sticking  to the  sides  and  caramelizing.  Once  the  mix  comes  to a  boil keep the   heat  just  enough to   keep it boiling (not  simmer),  but   not   so hot  that  the   sugar caramelizes or  burns.  For  the  recommended    amounts  in the  recipe  here  it   takes 2  minutes  of  boiling  the  sugar  syrup.

Can I  double  the  recipe ? 

Yes   you can !   The  pictures  above  were  taken   when   I   made a  double  batch.  Doubling  or  even  tripling   can be  done  without  any changes  to the   cooking  time.   That  said  if  you want  to make  larger  batches  use candy thermometer.   Once the   sugar  mix  has  come  to   boil  keep  cooking   until the   temperatures  reaches  soft ball stage in the candy thermometer.

Another important  thing  to keep in mind  is  not  to waste   any time   after  the  sugar  mix  is  taken off the  heat.  Mix  in the peanut  butter  quickly   so that  the  mix  cools  and  sets  uniformly.

What is  soft ball stage ?

What  you are  looking  for  is   close  to the  soft ball stage  in the  candy thermometer.  At soft  ball stage  the  temperature of  the   sugar  mix  is  between   235° F to 240° F (118° C to 120° C).   There  is  another  way to  test  this  if  you do not  have   candy thermometer. Set  a bowl of  cold  water  near  the  stove.   Add  a  drop of the  sugar   mix  into the  water. it  should  immediately solidify and   settle  at the bottom  of  the  bowl.  Take  it  out  immediately  and it  should  feel  soft –  and  that  is   soft  ball stage .

Here is  the   recipe  for  easy home  made peanut butter   fudge .

Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

By Syama
This is one of  the  easiest  fudge  recipes.  It  takes only 4 ingredients  and   comes together in 15 minutes or  less. The   fudge  has soft   texture   and  is loaded  with  peanut flavors.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Cooling Time 30 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 2 C Granulated  Sugar
  • 1 C Peanut  Butter  preferably creamy
  • 1/4 Milk
  • 2 Tbsp Butter
  • ½ Tsp Vanilla Extract   Optional

Instructions
 

  • Grease  8 X 8 pan  and  keep it  aside.
  • Take  the sugar,  milk and  butter in a thick bottomed  pan.   Bring  to  boil over  medium heat  stirring  to  combine   everything.  Let it  boil  for  2  minutes.  Keep  stirring  to  prevent  the   sugar  from  caramelizing  or  sticking  to the  bottom.  If  you feel the  heat  is  too much  reduc e to low.
  • Turn off heat  and  add the   peanut  butter and  vanilla  extract, if  using.  Stir well  until  the  mix is  uniform.  Stir  to mix  and  pour  into the prepared pan.
  • Let  cool and  slice – for a  slightly harder  version  refrigerate  and  slice .

Notes

  • Most  store brands  of  peanut  butter   have   sodium  added.  When  using no  sodium  peanut butter or  making  your  own  add a  pinch of  salt.
  • When  making  large  quantities  use a  candy thermometer  and  heat  the  sugar  mix  to   soft ball stage before  turning  the  heat  off.
  • Add the peanut  butter as  soon as   you  turn off the  heat – do not  let  the  sugar  mix  cool  down .
  • The  color  of  the   fudge varies  slightly  based  on the  sugar  used – I have  used  raw  sugar  hence  the  brownish  fudge.
  • If  the  oil  has  separated  from  your  peanut  butter stir  it  back  in  before using.

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

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Trust  me – these  won’t  last  long !

Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch

 

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Easy Peanut butter fudge from scratch
Recipe Rating




Sharon

Friday 12th of June 2020

Hi, Can I use powdered jaggery instead of sugar. If yes, how much? Thanks..

Syama

Monday 15th of June 2020

Hi Sharon, I haven't used jaggery in to make this. Sugar crystallizes in specific ways when heated to certain temperatures and cooled. This is important in candy making and making treats like burfis and fudges. On top of this jaggery contains different amount of molasses and other minerals which could interfere with this process. So when jaggery is heated to the same temperature as sugar and cooled down the texture will feel drastically different from what is expected in this recipe. So the short answer is for this recipe no, jaggery is not a right substitute. Thanks, Syama

Priya

Saturday 15th of September 2018

Hi Syama, This looks so pretty ! I want to make it. Can you explain what the soft ball stage is?

Syama

Saturday 15th of September 2018

Hi Priya, That is a very good question - sorry I missed explaining it in the recipe. updating it. Just in case here is how you test at home without a candy thermometer. Set  a bowl of  cold  water  near  the  stove.   Add  a  drop of the  sugar   mix  into the  water. it  should  immediately solidify and   settle  at the bottom  of  the  bowl.  Take  it  out  immediately  and it  should  feel  soft -  and  that  is   soft  ball stage .  Hope that explains it. - Syama.  

Anjana

Thursday 13th of September 2018

I dread making fudge, so much so that I have attempted it only twice so far . The first time I broke my wooden spoon and that was that. The second time it turned out too gritty ... This looks so much easier. Will definitely give it a try !