Walnut Fudge

Happiness is the Iowa State Fair!

Smile. Whether it's the happiness of a day at fair with your family or winning a ribbon, enjoying your favorite bands or snacking on your favorite food on a stick, nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair.
(from www.iowastatefair.org)

I saw this recipe for fudge on one of the Mr. Food cooking episodes on TV.  In honor of the Iowa State Fair I made a batch of the fudge on the last day of the fair.  It is very easy to make, and as Mr. Food says, "Ooh, It's So Good!"  The Iowa State Fair this year ran from August 8-18.  Doug & I spent a day strolling around the fair and enjoying the sights and sounds.  We love to sample the fair food.  Doug actually makes a list of the foods and where they are located so we have a route to follow when looking for fair goodies.  
The weather this year at the fair was perfect with the temperature around 80 degrees the day we attended.  Perfect weather for a perfect day.

 Walnut Fudge

I made the fudge with walnuts instead of pecans.  It is one of the easiest fudge recipes to make.  I think you will like it!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup evaporated milk

• 1 2/3 cups sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows or 16 large marshmallows, cut into quarters

• 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
  

What To Do:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring milk, sugar, and salt to a boil. Continue boiling 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add marshmallows, chocolate chips, vanilla, and nuts. Stir 1 to 2 minutes, or until marshmallows and chocolate are melted and mixture is creamy.  
  

• Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with aluminum foil, then coat with cooking spray. Pour mixture into  baking dish and let cool, then cut into 1-inch squares.
  
  Printable version of recipe: Walnut fudge
  
  
  
  
   Assemble the ingredients.
  
  
  
   Bring milk, sugar, and salt to a boil.
  
  
  
   Continue boiling 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  
  
  
   Remove pan from heat, and stir in chocolate chips.
  
  
  
   Stir in marshmallows and walnuts and vanilla.
  Next time I am going to use a 7-oz. jar of marshmallow creme.
  I think it will blend more easily and result in a better shine and texture.
  
  
  
   Stir until chocolate chips and marshmallows are melted.
  
  
  
   Spread into the bottom of an 8x8" pan that has been lined with aluminum foil
  and sprayed with non-stick vegetable cooking spray.
  
  
  
   Cut into squares.
  
  
  
  Enjoy!
  
  I experimented with marshmallow creme and mini-marshmallows.  The first batch I made,  I used regular marshmallows cut into fourths.  The result I liked the best was using 1-1/2 cups of mini-marshmallows.  Here are the results:
  
  
  

  

  Once the mixture has boiled for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and
  add the 7-oz. jar of marshmallow creme, chocolate chips, walnuts, and vanilla. 

  

  Stir until chips are melted and mixture is well blended. 

  

  The mixture will be lighter when using marshmallow creme and will set up as it cools. 

  

  Pour into a pan lined with aluminum foil that has been
  sprayed with non-stick vegetable spray.

  

  The lighter pieces in the front were made using the marshmallow creme,
  while the back pieces were made using mini-marshmallows.
  Delicious!

  Ah, the fair.  It's that magically stereotypical time of year that exemplifies the best and silliest things about being an Iowan:  the butter cow; evey imaginable kind of food (and several it would have never occurred to you to think of) on a stick; the oppressive August heat (which this year did not exist); the small-town farmer folk visiting the big city per their annual tradition; and of course, the Midway and its crop of carnie folk.

  For better and worse, no bigger reason to be proud of where we come from exists.  At the end of the day when someone visits from out of town, we tell them, "You've got to see the fair."  (from www.dmcityview.com)

  
  

  The Butter Cow, vandalized...

  This year, the iconic butter cow was vandalized by being dowsed in red paint.  The cow has been a part of the Iowa State Fair since 1911.  By the time we attended the fair, the cow had been cleaned up and back on display for fair-goers to see.  Here is a link for the story: Butter Cow
  

  
  

  

  from (iowastatefair.org)

  
  

  Here is  a little trivia on the Iowa State Fair.  Just for fun, see how many answers you get right.

  Here is a sample:

  Approximately how many types of food can be purchased "on-a-stick" at the Fair?

  More than 50 foods are on a stick. The list includes pickle, pork chop, corn dog, corn on the cob, cotton candy, veggie dog, turkey drumstick, fried pickle, hot bologna, Monkey Tails, honey, deep fried candy bar, deep fried hot dog , chocolate covered cheesecake, pineapple, Chicken Lips, Cornbrat, salad, hard-boiled egg.

  Here is the rest of the trivia: Iowa State Fair Trivia

Fudge Frosting- Cooking with Mom

I have wanted Mom to teach me how to make this frosting for a long time.  We set a date for a cooking class, and here are the results.  There is a knack to making this, and like all good cooks, Mom can just tell by looking at it if it is right.  With that said, I have included the cooking times as best I can.  This batch turned out to perfection. There was only 1 piece of cake that made it back home so my husband could sample it. The rest was doled out along my way home as I dropped off  plates of cake to my family.  What better way to to just drop in and say hello like, "Do you want to sample this cake with Mom's Fudge Frosting?"

One of the best fudge frosting you will eat!

This recipe was taken from The Scranton Centennial Cookbook...

Fudge Frosting:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar and cocoa.  Add milk and stir until combined.  Add butter.  Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Do not stir constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla.  Beat by hand until mixture cools and thickens.  Spread on cake.  This recipe will frost a 10 1/2 in. x 15 1/2 in. pan.  You can cut this in half for a regular bundt or 13" x 9" cake. (You may add walnuts, too.)

This recipe was submitted by two of Scranton's finest cooks, Mrs. Don Baker and Mrs. Clarence Loeffler.

Printable version: Mom's Fudge Frosting

Assemble the 5 ingredients: sugar, butter, milk, cocoa, and vanilla.

Add sugar and cocoa into a heavy bottom sauce pan,
so mixture won't burn while cooking on stove top.

Mix together until thoroughly blended. 

Add milk to mixture and stir until incorporated.

Add butter.

Heat to dissolve sugar and melt butter.

Bring to a boil .  You can see that it is starting to boil around the edges.

Bring to a rolling boil, and cook about 5 minutes.
Do not stir constantly.

Add the vanilla. 

And, start beating the frosting.  This takes a while. 

Keep beating while the frosting cools.
Beat it, do not stir.

The mixture will start to thicken.
Keep beating! 

Mom drizzled some over the cake to check for consistency. 

The frosting needs to stick to the sides of the cake. 

Did I say to keep beating the frosting? 

It will be thick, but still running off the spoon.

Add chopped walnuts, if desired.

Beautiful! 

Enjoy!  

It is a hit with Mom, Gail, and Rick!

Thanks, Mom, for a great day and a my cooking lesson!

How the Scranton Centennial Cookbook came to be:

Scranton, Iowa, is a rural farming community located in west central Iowa.  It was originally platted in 1869 when the railroad came through that part of Iowa.

As centennials slowly rolled across the Middle West in the 1960's, there was talk of a centennial for Scranton.

Incidental to planning the centennial, was the determination by a group of Scranton club women to publish a cookbook.

This book is filled with recipes contributed by Scranton area women who have used these recipes to prepare dishes that grace the tables at church and PTA suppers, that help celebrate family Thanksgiving and 4th of July and that fill and refresh hungry families that have planted and harvested crops and attended football games on cold nights.

In short, this recipe I am sharing and others from Midwest cooks, are the recipes that have nourished Middle America; that have raised healthy young men and women and have helped conquer a new frontier.  Many have been handed down from generation to generation and all have been "taste tested" many times.

(taken from the forward of the cookbook)

This frosting has been enjoyed many times by my family, and I am passing it to another generation to enjoy!