Today, I’ve got a perfectly sweet, super easy peppermint fudge. This creamy fudge is great for cookie boxes and can easily be made in the microwave! No baking skills required!
Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year. From the music, to the snow, to the festivities and family, to the best part, the baking! I love baking at Christmas time as I know many people do. It feels more special this time of year, plus it always feels good to bring a delicious dessert to a party.
My peppermint fudge is a perfect festive dessert to gift or bring with you to any holiday events. It’s quick, creamy, and easy to make but also looks the part. It can feed many people or just a few, depending on how big you want to cut it. Plus, if you’ve got other stuff going in the oven or on the stove, this can easily be made in one bowl in the microwave!
Type of Chocolate
You can use any kind of chocolate, although I haven’t tested it with white chocolate which does react differently to certain ingredients like extracts. I recommend using semi sweet or darker as it would be quite sweet with milk chocolate. My preference is using half semi sweet chocolate and half 70% dark chocolate. I’m not a big dark chocolate person but with the sweetness from the milk, I find this perfect!
Method of Making
This isn’t traditional peppermint fudge which requires a candy thermometer, instead it’s what’s known as a quick fudge. There are two ways you can make this fudge, over a double boiler or in the microwave. As the microwave is much quicker and easier, I always go with this option. If you are making in the microwave however, just be sure to heat in small increments, I always do 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between so you don’t overheat or burn the mixture.
Toppings
I always top this fudge with candy canes but you can leave it bare or use crushed peppermint candies of any sort. The red and white or green, red and white candy canes both work!
If you want to use crushed candy cane, the easiest way to crush it is to put them in a plastic bag, seal it, and then beat them with a rolling pin. This is also an easy and fun way to get the kids involved!
Chill Time & Storage
This peppermint fudge does need to be chilled to set up. If you don’t chill it, it will be quite soft and squishy, so make sure you’ve got room in the fridge! I find it’s generally ready to cut after a 2 hour chill and then you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a month.
Baking Tips
- Whether you’re using the microwave or double boiler, make sure you don’t overheat the mixture. Stir consistently over the double boiler and stir every 30 seconds in the microwave.
- I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale. It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.
More Festive Recipes
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Spiced Plum Overnight Oats
Today’s song is of course a Christmas song. I absolutely love Christmas music and have over 400 songs! I have gotten better, I don’t typically start listening to it in September now :P. Here’s Father Christmas by The Kinks. Happy Baking!! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.
Don’t forget to leave a STAR REVIEW if you try my recipe! Follow me on Facebook or tag me on instagram @livslittlemuffins. Find more ideas on my Pinterest or Whisk.
Peppermint Fudge
Ingredients
- 1 300mL/10oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 400g/14oz semi sweet or dark chocolate (I like to use half and half)
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 pan. Set aside.
- Add chocolate, milk and butter to large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully combined. You can also heat the mixture up over a double boiler if you prefer.
- Stir in the peppermint extract and pour the mixture into the lined pan. Gently even it out with a spatula. Sprinkle the crushed candy cane (*see notes) on top. Push down a little on the candy cane so it sticks into the top of the fudge.
- Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until firm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and enjoy!
