You know when something is over with and you think to yourself “man, I totally screwed that one up!” That was Halloween for me. I had all these great ideas for Halloween projects and then my Grandmother passed away and I kind of felt sorry for myself and I wallowed in self pity for a couple of weeks. What the heck! I’m a Mom. I can’t wallow. I don’t have time to wallow. My kids don’t understand wallowing. So no more wallowing for me!
I told them that we were going to rock Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. They got pretty excited about that. After all, I’m the Mom. I am supposed to set the tone, the pace, the atmosphere, if you will. I failed at Halloween. Crap. But we’re moving on now. So are you ready to start rockin’ the holidays??!!
Our first Thanksgiving-ish dessert is Pumpkin Fudge. At first I wasn’t quite sure about this. I’m a mediocre lover of pumpkin and a HUGE lover of fudge. What if I screw up a good batch of fudge? Well, fear not. It was awesome. Yes, awesome! It tasted like a creamy, delicious pumpkin pie.
Wanna try?
Pumpkin Spice Fudge
Source: Aunt Peg’s Recipe Box
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup packed light brown sugar
* 3/4 cup butter (do not use margarine)
* 2/3 cup evaporated milk
* 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
* 1 bag (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
* 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Put the first 6 ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking over medium high heat until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Stirring constantly, bring to the soft ball stage (between 234 and 243 degrees.)
Remove from heat and add marshmallow creme, chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir like the dickens to combine everything.
I still managed to have little chunks of white chocolate chips, even though I stirred it until I thought my arm was going to fall off. Any suggestions?
Pour into a 13 x 9 inch pan lined with parchment paper. This makes removing it easier.
Let cool to room temperature and then dig in.
If you like pumpkin pie, give this recipe a try. You won’t be disappointed!
I’ll take 4 pieces please =o)
I’m linking to the parties on my sidebar.
I’m so sorry for your loss, I hope you can try to remember the good things:) this fudge made me smile, because pumpkin in anything is great.
Your grandma got her wings so she could always fly on your shoulder. Sorry for the tough time. I completely understand self pity girl! This fudge really looks great! Hugs
This sounds great. From my fudge making experience, I would add the choc chips first after removing from heat and stir until melted. Then add the marshmallow creme and vanilla. It still takes a lot of stirring but not as bad.
Guess what–there will be another Halloween next year! It is good to spend time thinking of your Grandma. My Grandma passed away at 94–about 15 years ago. I think of her every day.
Enjoy the holidays but if you need to take a day off and wallow life still goes on!
Now to this yummy looking fudge. I’ll have to have plans to share this soon after I make it. I have little self control!
Oh my, that looks so good…I’ll just have to try it!
Thanks for leaving a sweet note on my blog.
Erin,
I am very sorry for your loss. Regarding your “wallowing”
You loved your grandmother and I think it is perfectly fine to grieve in whatever way you needed to. Your grandma sounds like she was an important part of your life and grieving over a loved one takes time and sometimes ignores holidays on our calendar.
Wishing you peace and comfort.
Blessings,
Aimee
So I second mom’s comment about putting the chocolate chips first. The reason is that chocolate requires a higher melting temperature than marshmallow so if you add them together the heat in the syrup is split while trying to heat up both marshmallow and chocolate. Also, if you find the chips aren’t melting you can add it back to the heat to help but with marshmallow in, extra heat will burn it. Also, have you tried actual marshmallows? The mini ones work great and are way cheaper than fluff!
I d wanna try- this looks delicious! Thanks for linking up to Friday Food Frenzy!
Hi Erin,
It is sure time to get those Fudge recipes out. Your Pumpkin Fudge looks delicious. Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
I would love for you to share this (or any of your other great ideas) at the link party going on now at ‘Or so she says …’ We’ve also got a fun “Favorite Things” giveaway going on right now. Hope to see you there! http://www.oneshetwoshe.com
Love that this has actual pumpkin puree in it! How fun!
Thanks for sharing at Mealtime Monday!
Kaylee
http://www.couponingncooking.com
Ooooh this looks DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a great week,
Beth =-)
I use butterscotch chips and whit chips in other recipes and have had troubles getting the store brand chips to melt. I think it has to do with the amount of oil in the chips. You could microwave them first to soften them up. Do short bursts of microwaving and stir often or they may burn. I use a combination of butterscotch and chocolate chips as a frosting on peanut butter Rice Krispie treats. And I have to stick to the Nestlé or other name brands for good melting.
I am so sorry to hear about your loss! You can tell how much you loved her.
This fudge looks awesome. I love that it has real pumpkin it it. I agree that adding the chips first will help melt them down all the way. Then add the rest. Thank you so much for sharing on Trick or Treat Tuesday!!!
Oh, how delicious looking!! So sorry about your loss. Thank you so much for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
***** 5 STAR FOR FLAVOR!!! *****
I honestly don’t like pumpkin flavored things, and I especially don’t like pumpkin pie…..but this…THIS!
THIS IS AMAZING!!!
For some reason mine didn’t set and get firm, even though I put it in the fridge to cool down (10 hours), so it’s still a “googey caramel” type texture, but oh man I cut me a sticky piece off and tried it…. It’s like everything that makes Fall great, is on your taste buds! DELICIOUS! I even added a dash of cinnamon to the mix too, just because I could. LOL. Although I wish I knew why mine didn’t get firmed up. Maybe I boiled it for too long? But either way, great recipe! Glad I found this!
I’m so glad you liked it! Most likely the reason it didn’t firm up is because you didn’t get it hot enough. Did you use a candy thermometer? This part is super important. But I’m glad you liked the taste so it wasn’t a total bomb. =o)
Ohhhhhh…… no, I didnt use a candy thermometer. 🙁
So if I re-try it again and use a thermometer, then it should firm up even if I leave it at room temp.?
Oh also…..if I take the gooey fudge I have now, could I re-heat it over the stove and re-use it? Or do I have to start all over? I kinda don’t want to waste this gooey fudge, but if it can’t be saved, then oh well. I’ll try again. 🙂
I don’t think you can re-cook it but I’m not sure. I’ve never done it and I’m thinking it’ll do weird things to the chocolate (since the sugar is what needs to be brought up to a higher temp. Not the chocolate.) If it’s gooey, maybe pour it over ice cream or put it in a thumbprint cookie?
Yes. If it doesn’t get hot enough, it doesn’t firm up. If it gets too hot, it gets hard (like when you’re making candy.) I didn’t refrigerate mine and it was the consistency of fudge.
Use a candy thermometer and just be patient and stir until it gets to the right temp. I promise – it’ll be awesome!
Thanks so much. I’m gonna re-attempt it again tonight. 🙂