All my best recipes for decadent, fattening, special-occasion treats seem to come from an earlier generation. My theory on this is that the war brides and their families went nuts for sugar when wartime rationing finally came to an end. One thing about these old country recipes, though: they’ve been well and truly taste-tested!
Mrs. Coughlan’s Brown Sugar Fudge
In a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned evaporated milkCook to the soft ball stage (about 235°F on a candy thermometer), stirring constantly.
Cool slightly, then stir until the mixture thickens — this will happen quickly!
Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan, and cut into squares while still warm.
Fudge For the Holidays
I like to cut the squares as small as I can without the fudge crumbling (about 3/4″ is usually good) and wrap them individually in small pieces of tinfoil, like little gifts.
Toss the silver-wrapped squares of fudge into a fancy cut-glass dish with old-fashioned barley toys and ribbon candy (and maybe a sprig or two snipped off a pine tree you were going to trim back anyway) — voila! you’ve got yourself a pretty and elegant Christmas centrepiece… for as long as the candy lasts!
Technorati Tags: cooking, recipes
