Rich & Decedent Walnut Fudge

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a major sweet tooth. I love cookies, candy, cakes, ice cream… and anything else that falls under the dessert category. Knowing that the older I get the more I need to be watching what I eat, I limit myself on my sweet intake. But it's just so hard. Especially this time of year.

Chocolate is one of my go-to's for something sweet but I rarely allow myself to buy any candy aside from chocolate chips, so over the weekend when I was really craving something rich, delicious, and decedent, I knew I had to rack my brain for what I could do with the chocolate chips...

And then it hit me.

Fudge.

Over the next hour I made it my mission to find a fudge recipe that wouldn't take all day to make and that I could create with ingredients that I had in my pantry/refrigerator. I really didn't want to have to go to the store to get anything, so after reading about 15 recipes (I kid you not), I decided to just 'wing it'. 

Whenever I 'wing' recipes I always get nervous waiting the final results, anticipating that moment of truth where I can either do my happy dance after creating something awesome, or where I hang my head in shame wishing that I had followed the recipe or used one. 

This time my friends, I did my happy dance. Not to toot my own horn, but this fudge was dang good. So now I'm going to share it with you!

What You Need: 

3 Cups of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Can of Evaporated Milk

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

2 Tablespoons of Butter (I used salted because that's what I had on hand)

1 Cup of Chopped Walnuts (or if you don't like walnuts, try substituting chopped pecans or almonds)

What You Need To Do:

Begin by lining an 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper, then using a large nonstick pot, begin to melt your chocolate chips over medium heat. As soon as the chocolate chips begin to melt, stir in your evaporated milk and stir constantly until all of the chocolate chips are melted. Add your butter and vanilla and continue to stir until the butter is melted. Your mixture will then begin to thicken. Quickly stir in your walnuts and pour the fudge mixture into your baking pan. 

Transfer your baking pan to the refrigerator and let sit for two (2) or more hours depending on your refrigerator. If you can let it sit overnight that's even better!

Once your fudge has set, lift the parchment paper from the baking pan and cut your fudge into squares! Give a handful of fudge squares to a friend or neighbor, or eat it all for yourself! 

Enjoy!