- 2 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Cup water
- 1 Cup Peanut Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- Dash of Salt
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Turn the heat on medium high.
I was always fascinated by my mom when she made this dessert. She would never measure things exactly, but it always came out just right. She always told me stories about how her mom was a genius in the kitchen when she was growing up. My mom talks about how her mom would make fudge for her when she was a teenager, but she did not help her mom like I help her. I always asked why, but she just simply told me that they were not very close when she was a teenager. This blew my mind since me and my mom are best friends. I would continue to ask my mom about her childhood and where she learned how to cook.
"I just kind of taught myself," she would say, "you learn from your mistakes, and then you try again."
Even when my mom said the simplest things, it reminded me how wise she was. I would listen to my mom tell stories until the timer beeped and it was time for the next step.
When it starts to boil, get a cold glass of water and get a tiny drop of the mixture from the pan. You then drop the mixture into the water. If the tiny drop forms into a light ball then it is ready. If it does not form a ball, let it keep boiling.
My mother taught me this technique the first time I helped her make fudge. She always loved baking and I know she loved when Sydney and I helped her. She would always ask me or Sydney to take the saucepan off the burner when it was done boiling. Sydney would usually run in the opposite direction because she was always scared the bubbles would pop out of the pan and hit her. I, on the other hand, knew how to angle my hand just the right way so it would not cross paths with the boiling mixture that could leave a blister on my hand. Megan and Emily, my older sisters, would begin to join me, Sydney, and my mom in the kitchen. We would enjoy the time we had left together as a whole because Megan would be starting her life with her new husband and Emily would be starting her new career as a nurse. While we reminisced on memories that made us laugh until we cried or ones that allowed us to remember how blessed we were to have each other, we could smell cinnamon candles wafting through the house mixed with peanut butter. You would hear the faint sound of Trans Siberian Orchestra playing their famous Christmas music on our television. While we continued to joke around, my mother would finish the dessert.
When the mixture is ready, add peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Beat it until it begins to thicken. Quickly pour it into an 8x8 pan and let it cool completely, then cut it into squares and serve it.
When my mother began to pour the finished product into the small pan, I always watched it spread evenly. It looked so good that I would want to eat it before it was completely solidified. Sydney and I would scrape out the extra fudge from the bowl and eat it while we waited for the dessert to cool. When it was ready, we would all try to call the biggest piece of fudge first. After we all got our piece, we would eat it slowly and savor each bite. We never realized that we had just made memories that we would remember forever.
