Christmas Chocolate Double Mint Fudge

It’s December, which means candy making time is upon us! I was asked by NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® chocolate to create a recipe using their new Nestlé Toll House DelightFulls Filled Baking Morsels. These unique new baking morsels feature a separate flavor – mint, caramel, cherry, or peanut butter – swirled into the chocolate so you get two flavors in one morsel. I love the idea of being able to layer flavors in my baking just by using these sweet little bits.

I was inspired by the dark chocolate morsels with mint filling: one because I love anything with mint, and two because it’s the perfect flavor for the holiday season. Think of peppermint patties, candy canes, and peppermint bark – anything and everything cool, minty, and festive.

From all the holiday candy options, I chose fudge because it’s a classic holiday sweet, and because I’m going the Midwest to visit family, and I can’t think of anything more perfectly Americana than bringing a tin of homemade fudge to a family gathering. What I love about the Nestle Toll House DelightFulls is that they add textural and visual interest to the fudge, as well as a surprise boost in flavor.

This recipe is adapted from the fudge recipe in my second book, Field Guide to Candy . There are many methods to making fudge, but I chose to make it the classic way, which is a test of sugar cookery knowledge and candy making skills. It might sound intimidating, but it’s not. If you follow a couple of key steps, you should end up with creamy, smooth fudge every time.

– The biggest tip is to use a candy thermometer. This is pretty much a given for making any candy. In order to get that lovely dense-yet-yielding creaminess, you need to cook the sugar mixture to 237 degrees F. Less than that and your fudge will be too soft and gooey; too high a temperature and your fudge will be unpleasantly brittle. Make sure your candy thermometer is correctly calibrated.

– Don’t heat the mixture too quickly. It’s tempting to turn up the heat to high to get the sugar to cook faster, but you run the risk of crystallization. Let it cook on medium-low until the sugar has melted, then you can turn it up to medium (not to high) and let it keep cooking. It will take a while, but the end result is worth it!

– Stir constantly while the sugar is cooking to soft ball stage, but once it reaches that temperature, don’t stir at all until the mixture cools back down to 110 degrees. This is because any agitation during this period can cause undesirable large sugar crystals to form, giving the fudge that unpleasant grainy texture. Some recipes even recommend not stirring at all after the sugar is dissolved. I think the corn syrup in my recipe helps with preventing crystallization, and personally I’ve always had good luck in avoiding unwanted crystallization (knocks on KitchenAid mixer). If you do encounter problems, though, try leaving off on the stirring right after all the sugar has dissolved.

-Stir (or beat) vigorously once the mixture has cooled to 110 degrees. At this point, you want to the sugar crystals to form, as they’ll be the small size that gives the fudge its smooth, melt in your mouth quality. The more you stir, the more crystals will form. Although the truly devoted beat by hand with a wooden spoon, using a stand mixer is much faster and works just as well.

This fudge is a layer of classic dark, bittersweet chocolate fudge topped with a minty white fudge. Nestlé Toll House Baking Morsels are liberally sprinkled across the top; you can also mix them into the chocolate layer if you want additional flavor and crunch. The mint gives the the fudge a clean crispness that contrasts well with the lushness of the chocolate. Sometimes I find fudge can be overwhelmingly one-note sweet, but here I think the combination of flavors and texture gives it more dimension, which makes it all the more enticing and tempting.

To learn more about DelightFulls Filled Baking Morsels, you can visit VeryBestBaking.com for information and more recipes. I hope this helps inspire you to start making your holiday season sweet!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®. The opinions and text are all mine. Please note comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.