Originally Posted by
teacherbailey
My mom made great fudge when we were kids in the 60's. Her recipe called for cocoa powder, sugar, milk, butter and vanilla extract. I can't find the exact recipe that I know she used but I found one in a 1954 cookbook that was very similar, and was excited to make it yesterday. Well.....it turned out so grainy that it's gritty with sugar. The recipe had a couple of murky spots....like "let cool slightly" and "beat until creamy". I'm betting the cooks of the day knew how long that "slightly" is, and how "creamy" it needed to be before you stop beating. Can anybody help? I have my own "go to" fudge recipe (the one off the jar of marshmallow crème) so I'm not looking for a good recipe, just trying to get mom's fudge to come out like hers did. Thanks for any advice or help you can give me!
This may be similar to your recipe with a little more detail...
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a 3-quart saucepan. Add milk gradually, stirring until smooth.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir and boil until temperature reaches 232F on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of the mixture forms a soft ball in cold water.
Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla; do not stir.
Cool to 110F, then beat until fudge thickens and loses some of its gloss.
Spread in a buttered 8x8-inch pan. When set, cut into squares.