Recipe: Dark Chocolate Fudge (using half and half)

DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE
Makes 3 pounds

"Guaranteed smooth, this fudge will become a tradition. Fudge makes a great gift, for friends, for hostesses, or for your sweetie. For smooth results, this recipe is sweetened partly with corn syrup, which is less prone to crystallization."

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups half and half (light cream)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups Safeway Select Walnuts or Pecans

Smoothly line an 8- or 9-inch-square pan with foil. Lightly butter foil, reserving 2 tablespoons for fudge. Also have ready an unbuttered 10x15-inch rimmed Pan.

In a 3- to 4-quart pan (use a heavy pan to reduce the risks of sticking or burning), mix half-and-half sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir occasionally over high heat until simmering, about 3 minutes. With a brush dipped in water, frequently wipe off beads of syrup that form on the sides of the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate; gently stir until chocolate melts and mixture begins to simmer, 3 to 6 minutes. Insert a candy thermometer into mixture. Boil, occasionally stirring and washing sides of pan with wet brush, until mixture reaches 235 degrees F (or a drop of candy spooned into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water), 30 to 40 minutes. longer.

Immediately pour fudge mixture into the unbuttered 10x15-inch rimmed pan. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter and vanilla.

Let stand undisturbed until a thermometer inserted in center of candy
registers 115 degrees F (pan is warm to touch), 20 to 30 minutes.

With a wide metal spatula, scrape mixture back and forth in pan until it becomes smooth and glossy and starts to thicken and mound but is still soft and malleable, 4 to 10 minutes. Add nuts and mix just enough to distribute.

Scrape fudge into foil-lined pan. Let stand until firm to touch, at least 2 hours.

Invert pan to release candy. Peel off foil. With a sharp knife, cut fudge into 1-inch squares and serve. Or wrap uncut fudge airtight; store at room temperature up to 1 week. (Fudge slices best and tastes creamiest if it's allowed to mellow overnight.)

TIPS:
The best fudge is dense with dark chocolate, firm enough to cut neatly, and melt-in-your-mouth velvety smooth. Follow these tips for creamy, cutable fudge:

- Wash down the pan sides with water as the fudge cooks. This thwarts the formation of large sugar crystals, which cause fudge to be grainy. The sugar (sucrose) in fudge is responsible for its texture. As sugar cooks, it physically changes, forming crystals, some tiny, some big.
- Likewise, monitor the temperature carefully with an accurate thermometer to make sure the mixture does not over cook.
- Let the fudge mixture cool to 115 degrees F before the last stirring. If you stir when the mixture is too hot or too cold, it will either stay soft or get too firm to cut neatly. The size of the sugar crystals, which controls the consistency of the finished fudge, is affected by the agitation of the fudge mixture after it's cooked.

Source: Safeway Selecy, December 2000