PBUTTER-FUDGE(D)         USENET Cookbook         PBUTTER-FUDGE(D)

ED'S PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

     PBUTTER-FUDGE - An extremely rich candy

     I got this recipe from a friend, Ed Firestone, who is argu-
     ably the best cook in Palo Alto.  The results resemble
     Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that have attained Nirvana.
     Don't scrimp on the peanut butter; get the best you can find
     or make it yourself.  If there's anything besides peanuts
     and salt in it, find another brand.

INGREDIENTS (3 lbs of fudge)
     1 lb      smooth natural peanut butter
     1 lb      powdered sugar
     1/2 lb    butter (2 sticks-save the wrappers)
     1 tsp     vanilla extract
     12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (otherwise known as 1 bag of
               chocolate chips)

PROCEDURE
          (1)  Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water or the
               top of a double boiler.  Make sure you don't get
               even a drop of water in the chocolate.  Stir fre-
               quently with a spatula while doing the following
               steps and remove it from the hot water just as
               soon as it's melted.

          (2)  Melt the butter.

          (3)  Mix together the powdered sugar, the melted
               butter, and the vanilla.  Don't bother sifting the
               powdered sugar.  Just stir everything together
               with a wooden spoon until it's smooth and creamy.

          (4)  Stir in the peanut butter.  This will break most
               flimsy wooden spoons if you're not careful.  Mush-
               ing everything together with your hands works well
               and is lots of fun.

          (5)  Press the fudge into a buttered 8- or 9-inch
               square pan.  You don't need much butter-just wipe
               the butter papers over the inside of the pan.  You
               can also line the pan with foil and butter that;
               this works especially well if you're making
               several batches in a row to give to people as
               holiday presents.  Press the fudge in firmly; you
               don't want any air bubbles in it.  You will get
               your hands messy here.

          (6)  Pour the chocolate over the fudge and spread it in
               an even layer.  The easiest way to do this is to
               shake the pan gently until the chocolate is even.

          (7)  Let the chocolate cool to room temperature.  Do
               not put it in the refrigerator.

          (8)  Using a sharp knife cut the fudge into 1-inch
               squares.  If you defied my instructions and put it
               in the refrigerator, the chocolate layer will
               shatter when you try to cut it.

          (9)  Unless you are going to serve it immediately,
               store it in the refrigerator.  Let it come to room
               temperature before serving.

NOTES
     Again, don't scrimp on the peanut butter!  Skippy simply
     will not do.

     Unless you use the foil method, you will inevitably destroy
     at least one piece getting it out of the pan.  The best
     method is to line the pan with foil, let the fudge cool,
     lift it out, peel off the foil, put it back in the pan, and
     cut it.  This keeps it from sticking to the pan.  If you try
     to cut it out of the pan, it tends to fall apart.

RATING
     Difficulty: moderate.  Time: 20 minutes preparation, 15
     minutes cooling.  Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR
     Paul Asente
     Stanford University, Computer Systems Lab, Palo Alto CA
     decwrl!glacier!cascade!asente asente@SU-Cascade.ARPA

     "You got peanut butter on my chocolate!"
     Path: decwrl!recipes
     From: reid@glacier (Brian Reid)
     Newsgroups: mod.recipes
     Subject: RECIPE: Pea soup with bacon
     Message-ID: 
     Date: 17 Oct 86 03:34:25 GMT
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