Crock Pot Fudge

Crock Pot Fudge

Ingredients:

• US Customary – Convert to Metric
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 24 oz chocolate chips – good quality
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:

• ¾ to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 12 oz butterscotch chips (optional) – As a substitute for 12 oz. of chocolate if you wish. See discussion
• Optional toppings: Sprinkles, M&Ms or Reese’s

Instructions:

1. Start with a smaller crock pot. A 3-quart cooker is fine, but a larger crock pot will work. The larger pot will cook small amounts faster. Please give it a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray.
2. Combine one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk, two 12-oz bags of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. You can substitute a bag of butterscotch chips for one bag of chocolate if you want.
3. Cook in the crock pot on low for 1 to 2 hours with the lid OFF. Stir every 20 to 30 minutes. The variability in cooking time is due to differences in chips and crock pots.
4. Prep an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan with crossing sheets of parchment paper. Also, butter corners well to prevent sticking. I like to just a touch of butter under the parchment paper to hold it in place.
5. It is done when it is all mixed together. Mix in ¾ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts if you wish.
   Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and smooth. You may add other toppings at this time.
6. Refrigerate until firm—about 2 hours. Remove from pan and cut into serving-size pieces.
   Store in an airtight container. It should be good at room temperature for at least a week. Refrigerated for 2-3 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

Pro Tips:

• Use two 12 oz. bags of semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips. You can substitute a bag of butterscotch chips for one bag of chocolate chips but please read the discussion in the post.
• Melting time varies by your choice of chips. “Baking chips” will have almost no cocoa and may melt and then burn quickly. The longest are dark chocolate and butterscotch.
• You can use a 3 quart or larger crock pot. If you use a full-size pot, it will melt faster.
  DO NOT COOK ON HIGH.