I make a lot of candy, but this one is special—not only is it my husband’s favorite, but it is also my Great-Grandma’s recipe, and she was truly a great woman.
This is my Great-Grandma Tingey’s Rocky Road Fudge recipe. She was a total bada$$. She owned her own dress shop, played jazz piano (getting in trouble for jazzing up hymns on the organ at church), and drove too fast. This is also a great addition to your easter treats. If you’ve got the itch to make even more candy, check out my Aunt Ruth’s Caramel recipe.
Safety Note: When making hot candy, I highly recommend wearing long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toed shoes. Candy can reach very high temperatures and frequently spatters out of the pot. I have some bad burns on my hand from a batch of peanut brittle that got a little wild. For the same reasons, you will want to keep kids and pets out of the area.
Gear and Prep:
Once the candy is ready to pour, you need to be ready or you could risk burning a batch, or even worse, burning yourself (I’ve got the scars to prove it!). So, before you get started, you will want to gather the following:
1. 2 large heavy bottom pots
2. Wooden spoon (do not use a metal spoon)
3. 2-4 buttered or parchment-lined high-rimmed dishes (ex: a Pyrex casserole dish or a metal cake pan)
4. Cup or spoon rest (something to hold your sticky spoon when not using)
5. Oven mitts – used to move your hot pan when ready to pour (preferably flexible mitts so you can more deftly pour and maneuver the pot)
Important Prep Steps:
- Prepare your heat-resistant dishes (ex: your Pyrex casserole dish) by lining them with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment, generously coat them with butter.
- Make sure ⅓ of your mini marshmallows are frozen and waiting in the freezer.
Rocky Road Fudge Ingredients:
5 extra large Hershey Bars
1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 cup of butter, cut into pieces
4 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
⅔ bag of mini marshmallows (room temp)
2 tsp of vanilla
1.5 cups peanuts
⅓ bag of mini marshmallows (frozen)
Step 1:
In one heavy pot (I use a large Le Creuset Dutch oven), combine broken-up chocolate bars, chocolate chips, and cut-up butter. Set aside.
Step 2:
In another large heavy pot, add sugar, evaporated milk, and room-temperature mini marshmallows over medium heat. Stir this really well and bring it to a boil.
Step 3:
Add vanilla and incorporate well by stirring it.
Step 4:
Continue to cook at a light boil for 7 minutes – stirring constantly or the marshmallow will burn and it may seize up your fudge (this part is important).
Step 5:
Pour the hot mixture over the butter and chocolate mixture in the other pot and stir until it loses its shine. This will be an arm workout, but hang in there. Also, do not fret if the butter separates or it looks grainy, keep stirring – trust the process, and it will come together.
Step 6:
Add peanuts and frozen marshmallows. In this step, the marshmallows must be frozen so that they will maintain their integrity and shape in the end product.
Step 7:
Pour into prepared pans, let cool, cut into desired pieces, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
