When I was growing up, Mom and I always made candies at Christmas time to give away to family and friends. Mom passed away at age 50 from complications of breast cancer, but I celebrate our candy making tradition every year by inviting friends over for a candy making party. The guests change every year--it just depends on who needs to come. One year, it was a friend going through a divorce. For a few years, it was a homeschooled group of girls. What fun we had! Santa hats and Christmas music playing while we made sweet treats for our families. I've also had some college-age young women over who needed a budget-friendly way to augment their Christmas gifts. I miss my mom, but sharing her generosity and love of community makes Christmas brighter.

So to kick off the holiday season, I'm sharing my Mom's fudge recipe with you. 

Mom's Fudge

3 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of butter

2/3 cup of evaporated milk

9-12 large marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. If you would rather have peanut butter fudge, omit the chocolate chips and put in 3/4 cup of peanut butter. My mom never measured this--she just dolloped a huge mixing spoonful into the hot mixture. 

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil while stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes over medium heat. Check the temperature with a candy thermometer--your fudge is done when it comes to soft-ball stage, or around 230-240 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in your chocolate chips (OR peanut butter) until melted. stir in the vanilla and marshmallows and mix until blended. You can use a mixer for this step, if you like. Pour into a greased 9x 9 pan. Cool and cut into squares. 

Happy Holidays!