Mother Taft’s Fudge
By Jim Stephens
As far back as I can remember as a child, my maternal grandmother made the most wonderful chocolate fudge. It was called Mother Taft’s Fudge, and it was only made at Christmas time.
My Grandmother died when I was in my teens and then my Mom made the fudge occasionally. Mom died when we lived in the UK, but she probably hadn’t made the fudge for fifteen years at least. Jean made Mother Taft’s Fudge a few times before we moved overseas in 1984, but it’s pretty safe to say it hasn’t been tasted on earth for the past 30 years.
Jean recently found the recipe, hand-written in my Mother’s handwriting on a faded scrap from a notebook page. Last night we worked together to make the batch of fudge!
So at last, in 2013, Mother Taft’s Fudge is back! We made it for the family to share when we gather for Christmas at our house, but the way it’s going they better get here soon or it will be gone!
Here’s the recipe:
Mother Taft’s Fudge
3 6-ounce packages of chocolate chips
½ lb of butter
2 cups walnut pieces
1 large jar of marshmallow
Mix all these ingredients in a large mixer bowl.
4½ cups of sugar
1 large can of evaporated milk
Mix in a large sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil. Let boil gently for 5 minutes.
Slowly pour the hot mix of sugar and milk over the mixed dry ingredients and butter, preferably with mixer running.
Mix until it begins to cool (comfortable to touch the outside of the bowl) (Use a strong mixer. This will take a while!)
Pour the fudge into buttered flat pans and put in a cool place until it sets.
Makes a creamy light-colored fudge that stays soft and moist.
Let us know if you try it and enjoy it!