Cranberry Orange Pecan Fudge by Uninvited Guest

[BakerAunt]

Cranberry Orange Pecan Fudge
Submitted by uninvited-guest on November 13, 2011 at 11:33 pm

A white fudge studded with cranberries, pecans, and orange zest. Makes for a beautiful presentation.
Yield: 64 1" cubes

2 Tbl. Butter
5 oz. Can of Evaporated Milk (2/3 cup)
1 3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
4 oz. Marshmallow Fluff (1/2 pint jar)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
12 oz. White Chocolate, chopped (or white chips)
6 oz. Dried Cranberries (about 1 generous cup)
6 oz. Pecan halves, or other nut (optional)
Zest of 1 Orange, grated fine
Grease or line an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper (or a 7” x 10” biscuit pan).
In a medium saucepan, combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue stirring and boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the marshmallow fluff, white chocolate, cranberries, nuts, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Stir quickly for about 1 minute, until the chocolate melts, and it is well blended.
Pour into prepared pan, cool, and cut into squares.

*2007 Great Frederick Fair – Best in Show – Candy*

Notes:
I prefer to use "bar chocolate." White chips can be used in a pinch, but I don't think the final product is as creamy. Most often I will use Ghirardelli bars that I grab in the baking section at the regular grocery.

Any kind of pecans will do for the recipe, but I think using the halves makes for a prettier fudge when cut.

I personally use the biscuit size pan and line with parchment, allowing some to hang over the edge of the pan. This is because it is easy to lift the whole mass out of the pan, and makes cutting easy, as you don't need to navigate pan edges. You can just cut straight down with a long knife... makes very clean and straight edges to the pieces.

This also has the best flavor when made at least a day prior to the day you intend to serve it. The flavor of the orange oil (in the zest) really gets to spread throughout the fudge. Also, the long wait time allows the fudge to really set well, and cut cleanly. If you cut it too early, it will be softish, and the chunks of pecans and cranberries will "catch" on the knife, causing the fudge to break and squish more than cut.

comments

Submitted by themuffinmaker on Wed, 2011-11-30 22:15.
Can you use dried zest? How about orange oil?

Submitted by uninvited-guest on Thu, 2011-12-01 00:38.
I'm sure you *could* use dried zest, but I personally have never done that. I'd probably put about 1/8 tsp orange oil over the dried zest and let it "hydrate" somewhat then use the whole mass. Whatever you decide to do, please be sure to post your results for others!

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• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

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