PB&J Fudge

the perfect pair...peanut butter & jelly

My mom has been making peanut butter fudge for as long as I can remember. To this day I rely on her to make it every Christmas. I have the recipe only because I forgot my recipe book at her house a few Christmas' ago and she hand wrote it in along with other family classics. There's something special about hand-written recipes. I guess because it's more personal than a printed or copied version. The person that wrote down the recipe took their time and it's in their hand. While it can be hard to decipher at times, I feel closer to my mom, grandma, great-grandma, etc. when I use one of their hand-written recipes.

As usual, I have put a twist on this family classic by adding grape jelly and swirling it into the peanut butter fudge. Who doesn't love that pairing? Ring in the holiday season with this creamy fudge. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Makes about 40 pieces
3 C Granulated Sugar

1 C Milk (low-fat okay)
1 1/2 T White Karo
1 Stick of Butter (suggest full-fat)
10 T Peanut Butter (suggest full-fat)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 T Marshmallow Cream
1/2 C Grape Jelly

Directions
Begin by greasing a 9 x 13 pan with butter. Set aside.

In a large sauce pot combine the sugar, milk, & Karo over medium heat. Fit with a candy thermometer and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the butter and continue to cook until the thermometer is just shy of "Soft Ball" (225 degrees). Be sure to continually stir the sauce as it comes to temperature. This will take about 20 minutes and will bubble-up a lot toward the end of the cook time.

Remove from the heat and add in the peanut butter, vanilla, and marshmallow cream. Mix vigorously by hand until everything is combined well. Then add the jelly and stir just to swirl into the fudge; only about 5 strokes. Pour into the buttered dish.

Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into pieces and store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks in a cool place. PB&J are the perfect (holiday) pair. Enjoy!