I never met my grandmother, but I have a few small connections to her. One of them is her fudge recipe, and I am proud to be using it to debut this new project. On paper, it’s pretty simple – just a few simple ingredients, melt, mix, and mold. However, in practice there are so many nuances to getting it justright that I will try to capture below. If done right, the end result will be sweet dark chocolate squares that are great snacks for parties. And as an added bonus, they are one of my few desserts that are gluten-free and still seriously delicious.

You’ll need:

9 inch pan, buttered (stick it in the fridge while the fudge cooks)

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, heat chocolate, sugar, and milk over medium to low heat. Stir continuously, about 20 minutes, as chocolate melts and boils. Boiling makes it crystallize, which makes it that lovely fudge consistency in the end. The continuous stirring keeps it from burning. As it’s bubbling, add a stick of butter to the mixture and stir continuously to incorporate it. At this point, lower the temp a little bit, but keep on stirring (you’ll have nice strong forearms by the end). The mixture will start to thicken and the sides will get a little crusty. The mixture will be thick enough when it’s roughly the consistency of pudding – you’ll want a fair amount of resistance as you stir. Once you’ve reached this stage, remove the pan from heat, add the vanilla and salt, and use a handmixer to beat on high until the mixture begins to stiffen (huh-huh, I said hand, beat, and stiffen).

Then pour into prepared pan.

Allow to cool about 15 minutes and cut into squares. Allow to fully cool and then serve.

Yum. Thanks, Grandma!

PS. If you don’t like super-dark chocolate, as a variation you can switch out 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate with 2 oz of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate.

PPS. Did you know I also <3 rocknroll? Or at least I did about a year and a half ago, and probably will again, soon.