4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe - Butter with a Side of Bread (2024)

FAQs

Why is my peanut butter fudge not hard? ›

The amount of time you cook fudge directly affects its firmness. Too little time and the water won't evaporate, causing the fudge to be soft. Conversely, cook it too long and fudge won't contain enough water, making it hard with a dry, crumbly texture.

If the fudge is very soft and slightly chewy then it is possible that it did not quite cook to soft ball stage and next time the mixture should be cooked to a slightly higher temperature (soft ball is 112-116c/235-240F and a sugar or candy thermometer can help).

Once a seed crystal forms, it grows bigger and bigger as the fudge cools. A lot of big crystals in fudge makes it grainy. By letting the fudge cool without stirring, you avoid creating seed crystals.

To fix it, you can reheat the fudge mixture over low heat and continue cooking until it reaches the proper temperature. Be sure to use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature accurately. Alternatively, you can try to salvage chewy fudge by mixing it into ice cream or using it as a topping for desserts.

– There are a number of reasons why the fudge was grainy. It might be that you haven't dissolved all the sugar before boiling the fudge mixture. It could be that there just wasn't enough fluid or fat to enable the sugar to dissolve or it might even be that the fudge wasn't beaten long enough or hard enough.

How do you fix fudge that is too soft? Bring the fudge back to a boil with 1–2 US tbsp (15–30 ml) of cream. If your fudge is soft or runny, it probably didn't come up to a high enough temperature while it was cooking. Put it back into the saucepan and add 1–2 US tbsp (15–30 ml) of 35% fat whipping cream.

Vanilla is often added to chocolate candies or other chocolate recipes because it complements and accents the flavor of chocolate.

Combine the sugar, milk, butter and salt. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, nuts and marshmallows until melted; mix well.

The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.

How do you fix grainy peanut butter fudge? ›

If you discover that your mixture is grainy, some quick thinking will save the entire batch. Pour the fudge back into your pan, and add about a cup of water to it, along with a tablespoon or two of evaporated milk, whipping cream, or whatever cream you're using.

Undercooked. This fudge was cooked until the temperature reached only108 °C (226 °F). At this temperature, the sugar is not concentrated enough... there is too much leftover water in the syrup and the resulting fudge is soft.

It could even be because the fudge wasn't beaten long or hard enough. If you are using an electric whisk instead of hand beating your Homemade Fudge it's important to remember that this is a very easy way to overbeat Fudge.

Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan.

Pour the mixture over the chocolate, being sure to shake, not scrape, the mixture from the pot. Set aside to cool for 10 to 12 minutes. (This prevents a grainy consistency.) Using the clean wooden spoon or a standing mixer on low speed, stir or beat the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated.

The key to creamy, luscious fudge is controlling crystal formation. If the sucrose (table sugar) crystals are small, the fudge will feel creamy and smooth on your tongue. But if the crystals are large, the fudge develops a crumbly, dry, or even coarse texture.