Aunt Betty’s Comfort Kitchen · Classics

Kraft's
Fantasy Fudge

The marshmallow-creme fudge that lived on the back of the jar for decades — sugar boiled to soft-ball, then chocolate, creme, and nuts stirred in. Rich, old-fashioned, and a thermometer makes it foolproof.

~2 hr 30 min total (mostly setting) 20 min active 234°F / 112°C soft-ball

Effort ●●●○ Time ●●○○ Some Doing

VegetarianGluten-Free

Piecesamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Boil to exactly 234°F / 112°C — soft-ball stage — and stir constantly. This is candy, so the thermometer is non-negotiable: under-boil and the fudge won't set; over-boil and it turns dry and crumbly. Keep stirring the whole time so the sugar doesn't scorch on the bottom.

Easier, if you like

Line the pan with foil or parchment so you can lift out the whole slab and cut clean squares — and cleanup is nothing.
Fudge keeps for weeks in a tin and freezes well, so it's a make-far-ahead gift or dessert.

Method

Cook's notes

The back-of-the-jar classic. Kraft printed Fantasy Fudge on the marshmallow creme jar for decades — a good deal of America's fudge came straight off that label.

A candy thermometer is the whole game. 234°F / 112°C is soft-ball stage; clip the thermometer to the pan and keep the bulb off the bottom.

Work quickly once it's off the heat — stir in the chocolate, then the creme, nuts, and vanilla, and pour before it starts to set.

Margarine (Parkay) is Betty's; unsalted butter works just as well. Walnuts or pecans are traditional.

It's already gluten-free; make it nut-free

Gluten-free: none of the ingredients contain wheat — check your chocolate chips and marshmallow creme labels to be sure.

Nut-free: simply leave the nuts out.

See Betty’s original page

Betty’s hand-lettered “Classics” page — Kraft's Fantasy Fudge is at lower right, alongside the Ro*Tel and California dips, Hush Puppies, Southern Fried Corn, and Traditional Potato Salad.