What is on that Holiday to-Do List?

• Turkey thawing – check!
• Lights on the outside trees – check!
• Gift shopping (ordering online) – check!
• Christmas Cards – check!
• Pies in the oven – check!
• Movie tickets ordered for Thanksgiving afternoon – check!

Now that all of those things are done I get to make goodies!

I love to bake during the holidays and there are so many great cookies and treats to make it is hard to decide what to do first. I decided that I would start with the fast and easy treats so that we have things to munch on and give away to people that come and visit early in the month. This Easy Holiday Fudge recipe is one that I have been using for years. It is a delicious, rich recipe that just about everyone loves. I say just about because I have one little one that “doesn’t do nuts” so I always pull some out before adding the nuts and make her her own tiny tray. This recipe is easy to alter to your taste so if you like almonds you can skip the walnuts and add almonds instead. If you don’t like nuts then you can skip them all together!

Easy Holiday Fudge

Ingredients

• 20 ounces Hershey’s® milk chocolate bars, broken into pieces.
• 1(12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cut into pieces
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 4 cups frozen mini marshmallows
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups walnuts, chopped

Directions

• Put four cups of mini marshmallows in the freezer until frozen. I place them in a bowl (they won’t stick together) in the morning and then make the fudge in the afternoon.
• In a large mixing bowl, place broken milk chocolate bars, chocolate chips and butter pieces; set aside.

• In a large pan, combine sugar, evaporated milk and 2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows. Bring them to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly. (Seriously, don’t stop stirring, it will scorch.) Continue to cook and stir over a light boil for 7 minutes. This is a great way to get the kids involved. I let them take turns stirring.

• Remove the melted marshmallow mix from heat and immediately pour over the chocolate/butter mixture. With a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and loses its shine. This will take a little while, just keep stirring. As the mixture cools it will lose its shine. Stir in the vanilla. Add the frozen marshmallows and walnuts pieces. Spread into a large buttered cookie sheet. Make sure and use a cookie sheet that has a lip or a side to it.

• Cool completely. I always put it in the refrigerator to cool. Cut into pieces and serve. Store in an airtight container. This recipe makes about 60-70 pieces depending upon how large you cut them.

You can see the texture in this photo. They are rich and delicious. You only need one or two small pieces and you are completely satisfied! Don’t let my photo fool you. This little plate is 4 x 4 so the pieces of fudge are really small. I am not a food blogger so my treats never look quite as good in pictures as they taste in real life.