Christmas Fudge

24 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Chill 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Christmas Fudge is the perfect holiday treat and edible gift with creamy chocolate, butterscotch chips, almonds, walnuts, and candied fruit.

Homemade Candy Recipes are always great during the holiday season. They are fun to make, fun to eat, and fun to give. What’s not to love? Recipes like Gumdrop Fudge, Walnut Fudge, Gingerbread Fudge, and this one are surprisingly easy to make and sure to put you in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Fudge squares with nuts and candy on parchment

CHRISTMAS FUDGE

This rich homemade fudge is the perfect blend of textures and flavors. The creamy fudge has a nice soft consistency, but the added almonds and walnuts give a crunchy contrast. Candied fruit makes a beautiful, colorful addition and add some sweetness. Meanwhile, butterscotch chips add even more creaminess and a buttery flavor than a traditional Chocolate Fudge Recipe. On top of all that, you can give the fudge mixture a boozy kick with cognac.

The fun ingredients set this chocolate fudge apart and make it ideal for the holidays. To make the fudge squares look extra festive, you can use red and green candied fruit. That way, it only has holiday colors. Even if you use multi-colored fruit, the bright candies bring a lot of cheer to the fudge mixture.

Christmas Fudge collage of prep steps

If you haven’t tried homemade fudge before, you might be surprised by just how easy this is to make! Assembling the recipe takes almost no time and it’s all done in the microwave.

Instead of heating the fudge on the stove and worrying about a candy thermometer, like you have to in more traditional fudge recipes, just heat the chocolate and cream mixture in the microwave. Then melt in the butterscotch chips and vanilla. After they come together, you just stir the mix-ins into the bowl and pour it into a lined baking pan to set. It honestly couldn’t be easier!

Christmas Fudge in parchment lined baking dish

MORE FUDGE RECIPES

CHRISTMAS FUDGE AS A GIFT

These rich candies make the perfect homemade gift to give to friends, family, neighbors, or give as a hostess gift. It’s sure to be a hit with anyone who receives it! The important part is packaging them so that the candies won’t lose their shape or get stuck together. Here are some tips for packaging the gift:

  1. Wait for the Christmas Fudge to set, and then cut it into squares.
  2. Place the squares in a tin or gift box with parchment paper or festive tissue paper lining it. To add more than one layer of fudge, put the paper between each layer so that they don’t stick.
  3. If you’re giving the gift in person, add a festive bow, and you’re done.
  4. However, if you’re shipping the fudge, find a shipping box of a similar size to put the gift box in so that the fudge doesn’t shake around too much in transit.
  5. Lay gel cooling packs next to the fudge container to keep them from melting.
  6. It’s also best to use express shipping, and let the person you’re shipping it to know that there is food coming in the mail.

Christmas Fudge squares with nuts and candy on parchment

VARIATIONS ON CHRISTMAS FUDGE

  • White Chocolate Fudge: If you prefer a white fudge mixture, you can just use white chocolate chips in place of the semisweet chips. Or, for an eye-catching Christmas Swirl Fudge, divide the recipe in half, using white chocolate chips for one half and semisweet chocolate for the other. Then pour the white chocolate fudge layer over the semisweet, and use a butter knife to marble or swirl the layers together.
  • Peppermint Fudge: To add some peppermint flavor to your holiday fudge, mix in 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. You can also add crushed candy canes in place of the candied fruit.
  • Spicy Chocolate Fudge: Add a bit of heat by mixing in chili powder, nutmeg, and a bit of cayenne. This will give the fudge a similar taste to a Mexican Hot Chocolate.
  • Decorations: For a beautiful Christmas Fudge top it off with large-grain sugar, festive sprinkles, coconut flakes, or a dusting of powdered sugar before it sets.

Christmas Fudge squares with nuts and candy on parchment in baking dish

MORE SEASONAL TREATS

HOW TO STORE CHRISTMAS FUDGE

  • Serve: After you’ve given it time to set, you can keep Christmas Fudge at room temperature for up to a week. Cover the dish in foil, or transfer the candies to an airtight container to keep them fresh.
  • Store: You could also seal and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
  • Freeze: For long-term storage, you can freeze the fudge for up to 3 months. To make sure they don’t stick together, wrap each piece in parchment paper and then plastic wrap before sealing them all in a freezer bag.

Christmas Fudge squares with nuts and candy on parchment

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Christmas Fudge

Christmas Fudge is the perfect holiday treat and edible gift with creamy chocolate, butterscotch chips, almonds, walnuts, and candied fruit.
Yield 24 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Candy
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cognac , optional
  • 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup walnut halves , divided
  • 1/2 cup almonds , chopped
  • 1 cup candied fruit

Instructions

  • Line an 8x8 baking pan with foil.
  • Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and condensed milk to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for1 minute.
  • Stir well.
  • Add in cognac (optional), vanilla extract, and butterscotch chips, and stir well until creamy.
  • Microwave for 30 seconds more until smooth (if needed.)
  • Stir in chopped almonds and ¾ cups of the walnuts.
  • Pour mixture quickly (while hot) into the baking dish.
  • Top with the remaining walnut halves and candied fruits.
  • Chill 2 hours until firm before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Christmas Fudge

Christmas Fudge Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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