I make my own sweets but my fudge comes out hard and not "fudgey" HELP!

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Chocolate or Butterscotch? I will pick for you, chocolate: This is the classic recipe, but there are some secrets. When the fudge balls up (you drop a little of the fudge from the spoon into a glass of ice cold -- not ice -- water, over and over again, until the fudge balls up slightly or holds itself together when dropped into the water. When it holds together slightly, you should be able to pick up the fudge ball with your fingers from the cold water (of course you have to dump that water and keep making more ice cold water until this works because it will get dirty and warm) and roll the little piece of fudge between your thumb and forefinger making a nice clean little ball of fudge that does not dribble or get too hard. You do this often enough because you can prevent the fudge from hardening if your fudge consistency is proper. Once the fudge balls up firmly, remove the pan from the stove. The old fashioned way is to pop up some popcorn and stick in a movie because this is the fun part. Sit down with a long handled wooden spoon and hold the pan on a towel on your lap at an angle. Stir and stir and stir and stir, when your arm gets tired switch arms and stir and stir around and around until the gloss of the fudge wears down to a soft muted fudgey color. Add the butter and if you like add 1/4 cup of peanut butter and stir some more until all melted and keep stirring until no shine on the fudge. Pour the fudge on a very well (thickly) buttered cookie sheet so the fudge is all flat and spreads out. When cool, or in about twenty minutes if you can wait (lick the spoon and the pan while waiting) cut up the fudge and eat. yummy.Rich Cocoa Fudge Ingredients: 3 cups sugar 2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa 1/8 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups milk 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions:1. Line 8-or 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil. 2. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in heavy 4-quart saucepan; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full rolling boil. Boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches 234°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water, forms a soft ball which flattens when removed from water. (Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.) 3. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla. DO NOT STIR. Cool at room temperature to 110°F (lukewarm). Beat with wooden spoon until fudge thickens and just begins to lose some of its gloss. Quickly spread into prepared pan; cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. About 36 pieces or 1-3/4 pounds. NOTE: For best results, do not double this recipe. VARIATIONS: NUTTY RICH COCOA FUDGE: Beat cooked fudge as directed. Immediately stir in 1 cup chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts and spread quickly into prepared pan. MARSHMALLOW-NUT COCOA FUDGE: Increase cocoa to 3/4 cup. Cook fudge as directed. Add 1 cup marshmallow creme with butter and vanilla. DO NOT STIR. Cool to 110°F (lukewarm). Beat 8 minutes; stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Pour into prepared pan. (Fudge does not set until poured into pan.)HIGH ALTITUDE DIRECTIONS:-- Increase milk to 1-2/3 cups-- Use soft ball cold water test for doneness OR Test and read thermometer in boiling water, subtract difference from 212°F. Then subtract that number from 234°F. This is the soft ball temperature for your altitude and thermometer.































www.hersheys.com

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Try the followingChocolate Fudge with Roasted Nuts and Raisins14 oz (400 g) dark chocolate (70-75% cocoa solids), chopped quite finely3 oz (75 g) mixed nuts, such as hazelnuts and almonds3 oz (75 g) raisins1½ oz (40 g) unsalted butter3½ fl oz (100 ml) liquid glucose12 fl oz (340 ml) whipping cream9 oz (250 g) golden caster sugarFor the top: 4 oz (110 g) good-quality milk chocolatePre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).You will also need a small baking tray; a wide, heavy-based saucepan with a capacity of 6 pints (3.5 litres); a sugar thermometer; and a baking tin, 6 x 10 inches (15 x 25.5 cm), lined with baking parchment.Begin by roasting the nuts. Spread them out on the small baking tray and roast them for 8 minutes, using a timer so you don't forget about them. Then remove them from the oven to a chopping board, let them cool a bit and chop them roughly. Now place them, along with the dark chocolate, raisins and butter in a large heatproof bowl.Next, measure out the glucose. (A hot spoon will be useful here – just dip it in boiled water for a few seconds, then wipe it dry.) Place the glucose, cream and sugar in the saucepan over a high heat. (It does need to be a large, wide pan as the mixture will come to a really fast, rolling boil.) Stir everything together until it gets really hot, and then stop stirring because the mixture does tend to catch on the bottom of the pan and you'll stir scorched bits into the fudge.What you need to do now is insert the sugar thermometer (protecting your hands with thick oven gloves and being really careful not to splash yourself). When the temperature of the mixture reaches 225°F (110°C) – after about 5 minutes – the mixture will look like dark condensed milk. Now remove it from the heat and pour it over the nuts, dark chocolate, raisins and butter, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended, smooth and glossy. (Don't be tempted to add the chocolate and other ingredients to the hot pan – they will simply burn.) Now all you do is pour the whole lot into the lined tin. Then soak the saucepan in hot water immediately.When the fudge is absolutely cold, cover it with more clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for at least 6 hours or, preferably, overnight.The next day, melt the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Then turn the fudge out on to a chopping board, discarding the baking parchment, and use a palette knife to spread the melted chocolate over the top. Use a serrated palette knife or a fork to make a ridged pattern across the topping and allow it to set before cutting the fudge into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes.































www.deliaonline.com

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