Remember that movie A Christmas Story where the ten year old boy Ralph helped his dad change the flat tire on the banks of a snowy road while cars were speeding by them? Whenever I eat fudge, I think of Ralph.  Only I always say,” fudge.”  I think of all the things that I experienced as a kiddo myself at Christmas.  Most recently, I was reminded of the time my mom made Christmas chocolates and I snuck down into the cellar where she had put them to cool.  I was about 5 years old, but I remember taking tiny little “mouse bites” out of them. Mom came up the stairs with those chocolate trays and I hid in the closet (thinking for sure that this little mouse would get caught).  It wasn’t until my adulthood that my dear saintly mother found out we didn’t indeed have mice, but she did have a daughter with very small teeth.  Bless her heart.  I don’t know how she lived through having me as a child!


Tis’ the season to scramble for last minute goodies and treats to give away to friends, family and co-workers before the big day! If you’re looking for something special and easy you’ve come to the right place. Christmas is just around the corner and around here, that means making sure that everyone we love knows we love them. Homemade gifts are by and far my most favorite to give!

 As a chef, I receive a lot of requests for a good fudge recipe and it seems that without fail the one that I keep close to my heart and come back to year after year is my magic fudge mix. It is so simple to make and so easy to store, that it has been a classic. With the advent of this last year, we’ve added to that recipe the remarkable addition of Strawberry fudge mix and Peanut butter fudge mix. All three are ridiculously delightful and remarkably easy to make. Hint, hint…they can also be found in the “candy making” section of our new Honeyville cookbook (The Gourmet Food Storage Handbook).

 Chef Tess’ Top 3 Fudge Mix Recipes

I developed this fudge mix to give away at the holidays…only to find that most of it didn’t get given away! We’d eat it! Oh, this is evil…but oh so good!

Magic Fudge Mix

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Powdered Sugar (about 7 cups)
1 cup Honeyville Powdered Butter
2 cups Honeyville Baker’s Cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. double-strength vanilla
1/2 tsp. imitation rum extract
1/2 tsp. Chef Tess Wise Woman of The East Spice Blend (Chef Tess Spices)
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Mix directions:
Combine all ingredients until well blended. Place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. I store the bags in the fridge or freezer. Great gift for the holidays! When the holidays get closer, I simply slip the mix into a fabric bag with the mixing directions printed on a cute tag.
To prepare:
Put mix in a microwave-safe bowl with 3/4 cup water and heat about 2 minutes. Stir well. Heat one more minute. In the meantime, line an 8 x 8 cake pan with foil and then spray the foil with nonstick coating. Pour the melted mix into the foil-lined pan and top with nuts or dried fruit if desired. Leave pan out to cool 3–-4 hours or overnight. Remove fudge from the pan, and remove from the foil. Cut into 1-inch squares. Yields 4 dozen love bombs, about 4 pounds of fudge.

When I first tasted the Honevyille strawberry milk powder, I knew that it needed to be in fudge! This milkshake fudge will really make you happy. Dip it in chocolate and it is beautiful.

Magic Strawberry Almond Milkshake Fudge 

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Powdered Sugar (about 7 cups)
1 cup Honeyville Powdered Butter
3 cups Honeyville Strawberry Milk Alternative
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. almond flavoring

Mix directions:
Combine all ingredients until well blended. Place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. I store the bags in the fridge or freezer. Great gift for the holidays! When the holiday gets closer, I simply slip the mix into a fabric bag with the mixing directions printed on a cute tag.

To prepare:
Put mix in a microwave-safe bowl with 3/4 cup water and heat about 2 minutes. Stir well. Heat one more minute. In the meantime line an 8 x 8 cake pan with foil and then spray the foil with nonstick coating. Pour the melted mix into the foil-lined pan and top with nuts or dried fruit if desired. Leave pan out to cool 3–4 hours or overnight. Remove fudge from the pan and remove from the foil. Cut into 1-inch squares. Yields 4 dozen love bombs, about 4 pounds of strawberry fudge.
To make into 4 mixes, simply divide the mix into 4. This will yield about 2 1/2 cups per mix. Cooking directions: use 3 tablespoons water and a small mini loaf pan instead of the 8 x 8 pan.

This mix is crazy-fun! Who knew that powdered peanut butter could also be made into a delicious goodie like this? Plus the convenience of a mix is outstanding.

Peanut Butter Fudge Mix

Ingredients:
8 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Honeyville Powdered Butter
3 cups Honeyville Powdered Peanut Butter
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp vanilla powder

Mix directions:
Combine all ingredients until well blended. Place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. I store the bags in the fridge or freezer. Great gift for the holidays! When the holiday gets closer, I simply slip the mix into a fabric bag with the mixing directions printed on a cute tag.

To prepare:
Put mix in a microwave-safe bowl with 3/4 cup water and heat about 2 minutes. Stir well. Heat one more minute. In the meantime line an 8 x 8 cake pan with foil and then spray the foil with nonstick coating. Pour the melted mix into the foil-lined pan and top with nuts or dried fruit if desired. Leave pan out to cool 3–4 hours or overnight. Remove fudge from the pan and remove from the foil. Cut into 1-inch squares. Yields 4 dozen love bombs, about 4 pounds of peanut butter fudge.

To make into 4 mixes, simply divide the mix into 4. This will yield about 3 cups per mix. Cooking directions: use 3 tablespoons water and a small mini loaf pan instead of the 8 x 8 pan.

Whatever you may be doing for the holidays, have a warm and wonderful time. My kids will be off school the next three weeks so we’ll be baking and playing around here. In all honesty, that is my gift. I love having golden memory-making moments with my darlings! Have yourself a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Try not to eat too much fudge…or find any Christmas mice. Grin. Grin.

Here is a copy of the Printable Version of these three amazing recipes!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess