Wednesday, February 6, 2013

In Search of Chocolate Perfection


As newlyweds facing our first Christmas in our new home, we both wanted to bring a bit of our own Christmas memories into this special holiday. While my memories involved things like banana nut bread and pecan coffee cake, my husband’s mother had kept their holidays filled with all kinds of family heirloom special treats and homemade candies. One of his favorites was the chocolate fudge she made—perfectly creamy and smooth, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And so the search began. 

For our first few Christmases, he tried all kinds of fudge recipes from people at work, neighbors, and my Southern Living magazine. We taste-tested all kinds of his creations, and the holidays smelled delicious at our house! He learned all he could about fudge making, even buying a big slab of marble for the pouring of the fudge in its final phases. Another GREAT addition to our kitchen was when he discovered that using a mixer in the beating phase was a key component to creating just the right texture. I was all smiles the day he bought a blue KitchenAid mixer. Oh, the suffering along the way to finding the perfect fudge-making process—sheer delight! 


As hard as he tried, he couldn't get the product to be quite the way he remembered his mom’s fudge. He finally picked up the phone and called her, pen and pad of paper at hand, and asked if she would share her now-famous recipe. When she told him that she always used the recipe on the Hershey Cocoa can, he was stunned. “That’s it? THAT’s the recipe?” He now had just what he needed, and the rest is delicious history. 

And we live happily ever after, with his fudge on special occasions, and a big blue KitchenAid mixer on the counter, and big chocolate-loving smiles all around!

Blessings,
Amanda


P.S. Chocolate Challenge DNG is on sale now through 2/9/13 for $5! And, don't forget to download your treasure map and find the codes for a chance to win 36 Hershey bars!

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