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Butter pecan fudge is a decadent fusion of rich buttery goodness, toasted pecans, and creamy sweetness that melts seamlessly on the palate. This easy fudge recipe perfectly marries the deep, nutty flavor of roasted pecans with the velvety texture of classic fudge. Whether you’re relishing it during the holidays, gifting it to a loved one, or simply satisfying a sweet craving, this fudge promises a luxurious treat bound to become a favorite.
Butter Pecan Fudge Recipe
Homemade fudge offers a taste authenticity store-bought versions often lack, letting you truly appreciate the quality of ingredients and the magic of handcrafted confections. It’s an ideal way to make special occasions even more memorable or lend an ordinary day a sweetness.
Despite its gourmet feel, this butter pecan fudge is easy to prepare. Even novice bakers can achieve perfection with just a handful of ingredients and minimal equipment. The result is consistently divine, ensuring every bite offers a melt-in-the-mouth experience worth savoring.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes or until you can smell the pecans. You can also toast them in a frying pan over medium heat.
While the pecans toast, grease an8 x 8 baking panwith butter and set aside. You can line it with parchment if you like.
Combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, whipping cream, and salt in a medium size pot. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil, and the bubbles do not disappear when you mix them. It will only take a few minutes to come to a full boil.
Set a time for 5 minutes and stir the mixture constantly while it boils. Once the 5 minutes are up, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in pecans.
Pour the fudge into your prepared pan. Allow fudge to cool until room temperature before cutting, but preferably 24 hours.
The fudge will be set once it is cooled to room temperature, but I like to give it 24 hours to firm up.
Yield: 1 8x8 pan of fudge
Butter pecan fudge is a decadent fusion of rich buttery goodness, toasted pecans, and creamy sweetness that melts seamlessly on the palate.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup of pecans
Instructions
Pace the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes or until you can smell the pecans. You can also toast them in a frying pan over medium heat.
Measure out powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.
Combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, whipping cream, and salt in a medium-sized pot. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil, and the bubbles do not disappear when you mix them. It will only take a few minutes to come to a full boil.
Set a time for 5 minutes and stir the mixture constantly while it boils.
Once the 5 minutes are up, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in pecans.
Pour the fudge into your prepared pan. Allow fudge to cool until room temperature before cutting, but preferably 24 hours.
After letting the fudge cool, it's time to beat it. It is important to stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to thicken and its surface starts to look dull or matte. Now is the time to stop beating and pour the fudge into a mould.
Coarse grainy fudge results when large crystals are allowed to form. Butter is added in the final stages to add flavor and smoothness and inhibit large crystal formation. Use unsalted butter so you can add a small amount of salt (¼ teaspoon per stick of butter) to the sugar/liquid mixture.
The key to successful, nongrainy fudge is in the cooling, not the cooking. The recipe calls for heating the ingredients to the soft-ball stage, or 234° F, then allowing it to cool undisturbed to approximately 110° F.
Candy that isn't cooked long enough will end up too soft; overcooking makes fudge crumbly or hard. High-quality fudge has many small crystals. If the process of crystallization begins too early, fewer crystals form and they become much larger.
So, the key to smooth yet firm fudge, pralines, and fondant is to first bring the mixture to a high enough concentration and then let it cool off somewhat before starting to stir. And once you do start to stir, stir fanatically and without stopping for the finest, creamiest texture.
Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil, do not stir it. If you do, the sugar can crystallize, giving your fudge a gritty texture. As you beat the fudge, pay attention to color and texture. Once the fudge loses its sheen and thickens, put down your spoon.
Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan.
This fudge was beaten immediately after cooking, while it was still very hot. Its crystals are so big that it has practically reverted back to a sugar state! What happened? Beating the syrup caused the formation of crystallization nuclei, anchor points to which sugar molecules attach to form crystals.
Fudge is basically an emulsion between sugar, butter and milk. If the butter gets too hot, it can separate, causing the fudge to become oily on top. This is easy to prevent by monitoring the temperature with a candy thermometer, but separated fudge can also be fixed.
At its simplest, fudge is a dense, soft candy, often made with sugar and dairy products like butter and milk. Nowadays, fudge is usually flavored with chocolate, but you can utilize pretty much any flavor, such as peanut butter, pumpkin, even birthday cake.
Using salted butter in place of unsalted butter for baking can make a noticeable difference in the final taste and overall balance of flavors in the baked goods. Salted butter already contains salt, which adds a savory note to the baked goods.
OPTION 3) Sieve together some powdered sugar and cocoa powder, and gradually work this into your unset fudge until it reaches the consistency of dough, then roll out and cut into squares, or shape into balls and then roll in powdered sugar (roll the balls in icing sugar, not yourself).
However, if you don't beat it at all, the crystals won't form properly, so your fudge won't set. If you forget to beat the fudge, try heating it back up over low heat, then beat it once it's slightly softened. If you beat the fudge too soon, the crystals will be too large, and the fudge will be grainy.
The soft ball stage is the point when melted sugar is 236 degrees. Without a candy thermometer, you can achieve this with what is called a “cold water method”. Fill a small glass with ice and cover it with water until it is ice cold.. Drop your hot sugar syrup into the ice water.
Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!
Undercooked. This fudge was cooked until the temperature reached only108 °C (226 °F). At this temperature, the sugar is not concentrated enough... there is too much leftover water in the syrup and the resulting fudge is soft.
If the sugar crystals are not properly dissolved before cooling, they can create a gritty texture. To avoid this, ensure that you stir the fudge mixture consistently and remove any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan using a wet pastry brush.
The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.
Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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