Adventures in Candy Making

My sweet tooth has been reigning over my cooking recently! After one failed attempt with my Aunt Janet's chocolate fudge recipe, I swore off candy making for a while. A couple of days ago I was feeling saucy and decided to give it another go.



This recipe is not difficult and the ingredients are common but it does take quite a bit of time to get the right consistency. Patience is the name of the game! I did have a candy thermometer handy but as I was checking on the mixture, I noticed that it seemed a little off. I opted for the 'cold water test' to make sure the candy was at the right sugar stage.

Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Grease a baking pan with butter and set aside.
-Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir to blend, then bring to a boil stirring constantly.
-Reduce heat to low and simmer. DO NOT STIR AGAIN! In fact, don't even touch the pan-just let that baby bubble...


The mixture is going to double in size (at least!) so make sure your pot is big enough to handle it!
-Once the mixture has cooked for about 20-30 minutes, you can test the sugar stage by dropping a bit of the candy mixture into a cup of ice water. The mixture should form a soft ball-think about a tootsie roll that's been in your pocket all day. When you've found the right stage, you can remove the pot from the heat.
-Mix in your butter and vanilla and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the fudge loses its sheen (few minutes). Transfer to the greased baking dish and allow to cool before devouring!