Bready or Not: Maple Ginger Fudge
I would like to present to you the best fudge in the history of the world.
Maple ginger fudge. Sweetness with just the slightest zing.
The origin of the recipe brings sweet connotations for me, too. One of my very favorite authors, C. E. Murphy, posted about this recipe last Christmas. We started a conversation about it.
This somehow resulted in her reading The Clockwork Dagger, loving it, and providing a blurb.
BEST. FUDGE. EVER.
That blurb:
“The Clockwork Dagger had me at hello and kept me with unexpected twists, intriguing magic and splendid betrayals. At the satisfying conclusion, my immediate impulse was to inquire in tones of gentle inquiry, when do I get to read the sequel!?!?” ~C. E. Murphy
C. E. Murphy’s Walker Papers series is my very favorite set of urban fantasy books. They were the first series I got into, and most importantly, they taught me how to write. I found them during that time when I realized my writing was wretched. I read through Urban Shaman on a technical level so I could figure out how to write first person and just plain why the books worked.
To have her love my book… it makes me get teary-eyed.
Make some of this fudge. Maybe some wonderful things will happen in your life, too.
Recipe modified from a modified version by C.E. Murphy, who originally found the recipe on Candy.About.Com. In case you didn’t notice, there was some modifying going on.
Bready or Not: Maple Ginger Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk small can
- 10 oz white chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavor
- 7 oz marshmallow cream
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup candied ginger finely chopped
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare a pan: 9x9 if you want it thick, or 13x9 if you want it thin. Line pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick cooking spray. Measure out of the other ingredients so they are staged and ready to go.
- In a larger saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, and evaporated milk. Cook at medium-high heat and stir until the butter and sugar melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture boils.
- Keep the candy at a rolling boil, stirring constantly, for five minutes. (If you have a candy thermometer and want to use it, you will be cooking the candy to soft-ball stage, 240 degrees.)
- After five minutes, take the pot off the burner and immediately add the white chocolate chips. Stir until they are melted and smooth. Work fast so that everything stays hot.
- Quickly add the marshmallow cream, maple flavor, vanilla, ground ginger, salt, pecans, and chopped candied ginger, and stir. Once the marshmallow cream has melted and all of the ingredients are incorporated, pour the fudge into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top; an offset spatula works well.
- Allow the fudge to set at room temperature for several hours. Once set, lift it out of the pan using the foil as handles. Use a large, sharp knife to cut the fudge into small one-inch pieces.
OM NOM NOM.
Trade Paperback & eBook
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-06-231384-3
ebook ASIN (Amazon): B00HLIYZ5U
ebook ISBN (Nook): 978-0-06-231385-0
Release: September 16, 2014
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Read MoreBready or Not: Maple Truffles
Every time I make truffles, I always end up raving to my husband, “I HATE MAKING TRUFFLES.”
The chocolate is always so slow to melt. I usually end up burning myself in some small way. My truffles never look as pretty as other truffles I see online (yes, I’m judging myself by my truffle beauty, dangit).
However, I always end up making truffles again because my husband’s co-workers go absolutely bonkers for them. They are referred to as “Mrs. Cato’s Balls.” Yeah. Go ahead and snicker.
The standard home truffle uses Oreos. This is my unique version, done using maple creme cookies. You could also substitute Golden Oreos and add more maple flavor.
Everything is better with maple.
Bready or Not: Maple Truffles
Ingredients
A Bready or Not Original Recipe
- 8 ounces cream cheese 1 block
- 1 package of maple creme cookies or substitute Golden Oreos, and add more maple flavor
- 3/4 teaspoon maple flavor
- 11 ounces white chocolate or white candy melts
Instructions
- Bring cream cheese to room temperature, or place unwrapped block in a bowl and zap in microwave until softened, about 20 seconds.
- Pulverize the cookies. Use a blender to rend them to crumbs, or put cookies in a gallon zipper bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- In a large bowl, combine soft cream cheese and crumbs. Begin to mix together, add maple flavor, then mix until completely combined and fully beige. Arrange a shelf in your freezer that will fit a mid-size cookie sheet; line the cookie sheet with wax paper. Use a tablespoon or teaspoon scoop or a spoon to form truffles, then use hands to compress the balls more. Set them all on the wax paper, then place in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Choose your method of melting the chocolate: the microwave or a double boiler. The latter has the advantage of keeping the chocolate warm. Carefully dip the cookie balls into the chocolate to completely cover. Let set. Often it's best to do a second coat.
With any leftover chocolate, use a spoon to form lumps on the wax paper, and add nuts, candies, etc, or dip crackers or fruit from your kitchen.
Keep truffles stored in fridge; they will stay good for weeks.
OM NOM NOM.
Bready or Not: Glazed Maple Blondies
I’m ripping off recreating my own recipe.
Last fall I shared Maple Truffle Blondies. It consisted of three layers: maple blondies, cream cheese and pulverized maple cookies, and a maple glaze.
So I wondered, hey, those blondies are really good. I have more maple creme cookies to use up. I do have cream cheese, but I don’t want to use it right now. Let’s knock this down to two layers and see what results.
The result: WOW.
Maple goodness, let me tell you. The blondie is chewy and not overly sweet, so that glaze is perfection. Sweet, but not cloyingly so like some frostings are. If you want, you could also mix nuts (pecans would be great, I imagine) into the blondies or sprinkle them on the glaze.
Before the glaze…
The maple creme cookies are a Christmas seasonal thing in some areas, but I can find them year-round at Fresh & Easy or Sprouts Farmers Markets. If you can’t find them, just sub in Golden Oreos and add more maple flavor, or omit entirely. It would make for thinner bars, but they would still be awesome.
If you love maple, you gotta make this.
Bready or Not: Glazed Maple Blondies
Ingredients
For maple blondies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 10 Tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 maple creme cookies box
For glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tb butter melted
- 3/4 tsp maple flavoring vanilla will do in a pinch
- 2 + Tb milk almond milk works!
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. Coarsely chop the cookies. Reserve 1/4 cup of the finer crumbs.
- In a mixing bowl, blend the butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Add the eggs and vanilla. Pour in the flour mix until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips and cookie pieces.
- Spread batter in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the blondie layer cool completely. Place in fridge for a while, if necessary.
- Combine glaze ingredients in bowl. Add enough milk so that the icing is spreadable but not runny. Immediately dollop over blondies and smooth it out. Immediately sprinkle on the reserved crumbs. Use fingers to gently press in.
- Place pan in fridge to set for hour or two before slicing. Store in fridge.
OM NOM NOM.
