Don’t get me wrong, I really like Penuche or Brown Sugar Fudge. It was a staple in our house when I was growing up from mid-November until sometime in January. It was also the source of disappointments for both my sister and myself.
My mom would start making candy and baked goods for the family and as presents sometime in November. She would usually start with fudge. She made old-fashioned chocolate, white cherry, peanut butter, and penuche. She kept the fudge in tins lined and layered with wax paper. They were kept in a cool but dark entrance area to another level of our house. The peanut butter and penuche were both light brown fudges. My greatest love of all her homemade sweets was peanut butter fudge. It always came a quite a shock and disappointment to bite into a piece of penuche thinking it was a piece of peanut butter fudge…all because we were in too big of a hurry to pay closer attention to the tins.
Normally, penuche fudge is a very creamy, smooth fudge unless you add pecans to it before pouring it out. If you wait too long though before pouring it into the pan, it does not look as smooth and shiny as it should. However, the taste can still be very creamy…it is just not as pretty. This is the case with my last batch of penuche fudge as pictured here.
Penuche, as well as other old-fashioned fudges, should be made with a wooden spoon, a good candy thermometer, and a lot of patience. It does take a while for the candy to get to the proper temperatures in order to have a smooth, tasty fudge that sets up properly. However, you only need a few ingredients:
Mom’s Penuche Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 c. evaporated milk
- 1 tbsp. butter or margarine (plus extra for preparing the pan)
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8X8 or 9X9 inch pan/dish.
- Combine brown sugar and evaporated milk in a medium to large saucepan or pot.
- Stir ingredients together over medium heat until well combined.
- Cook to 236 degrees (soft ball) stirring frequently until it starts boiling. Brush down the sides of the pan with water as the mixture boils to help prevent early re-crystallization of the sugar. Do not stir after the mixture starts boiling.
- Remove from heat; add butter or margarine and vanilla BUT DO NOT STIR.
- Cool to 110 degrees (lukewarm).
- Beat until creamy and when the candy just looses it shine.
- Quickly stir in the nuts, if using.
- Pour/spread into the buttered pan. Cut into pieces while warm.