How to Make Old Fashioned Butterscotch Fudge

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I am a big fan of fudge, I grew up eating it, and it always reminds me of the holidays, especially Christmas. Time to show you how to make old-fashioned butterscotch fudge at home completely from scratch and without using the butterscotch chips. However, I will point out if you want a full-proof homemade butterscotch fudge that is super easy try this creamy butterscotch fudge recipe you only need three ingredients, but it uses those chips.

Ingredients

To make traditional butterscotch fudge at home you need the following simple ingredients:

• Sugar – You will use both brown sugar and white sugar.
• Evaporated milk—This is also known as “cooking” milk or “candy milk” because it is most often used to make desserts and candy.
• Molasses – The molasses gives the fudge such a nice flavor.
• Salt – Just a bit of salt to balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Butter – The butter adds lots of flavor to the fudge.
• Vanilla extract – This can be left out but also adds flavor.

Equipment

• Heavy Bottom Pot
• Spoon
• Thermometer (candy or instant-read meat thermometer)
• 6×6, 7×7, or 8×8 pan depending on how thick you want your fudge. If you want really thin fudge use the 8×8 pan.
• Pastry Brush

How to make traditional old-fashioned butterscotch fudge

Begin by adding the brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, salt, and evaporated milk to a medium-heavy bottom pot.

NOTE: You can also use all brown sugar and not use white sugar or molasses.

Add the pot to your burner and set the heat to medium. Stir gently until it starts to boil, then let it boil pretty much undisturbed for 6 to 10 minutes until the temp reaches 238 to 240 F (114 to 115C) If you want a softer fudge only go to 238. If you want it more crumbly go to 240 to 242F.

NOTE: If you notice sugar crystals accumulating on the sides of the pot, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sugar down into the mixture. This will help the fudge turn out a little better and not so grainy, although many people love it to have a bit of a grainy taste.

Once it gets to temperature remove the heat from the burner and add the butter and vanilla extract to the pot. Don’t stir! Just allow it to melt on its own. The fudge mixture must cool down to 120 to 130F (49 to 54C).

After it has cooled down you can now “beat” that fudge using a wooden or silicone spoon. Keep stirring vigorously until it loses its shine and is nice and smooth.

Then pour it into a pan lined with parchment paper. Spray the paper with oil to help keep the fudge from sticking.

You can also skip the paper and just use the pan, I really like using parchment paper because it makes taking the fudge out and slicing it super easy.

Now all you need to do is let the fudge cool and set, which will take a few hours. I recommend placing it in the fridge for a couple of hours. It can dry out in there and make the fudge not as smooth so you may want to cover it.

Once it has set it is time to remove the fudge and slice it into squares. This is where the parchment paper comes in handy. Just pull the large square out of the pan and slice it. If your knife sticks to the fudge brush it with a little oil or run it under really hot water to heat the knife up. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Butterscotch Fudge Troubleshooting Tips

Why is my fudge grainy?

This can happen for a variety of reasons, cooking it is a common reason, or getting too many sugar crystals on the side of the pot, not beating it enough or too much. Don’t be alarmed you can fix grainy fudge if you desire. Just put it back in the pot and add about 1/2 cup of water. Reheat to the correct temp.

Why is my fudge sticking to the parchment paper?

The most common reason is the fudge has not yet set completely. If you have a hard time keeping it from sticking just put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes longer or you can try putting it in the freezer as well.

Here are a few other fudge recipes you may like to try:

Nutella Fudge

Creamy Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge