First in the Nonna’s Recipes series is my great-grandmother Mawmaw’s peanut butter fudge that my grandmother Nonna made every Christmas. I have fond memories of her making it (and divinity) and fuzzy memories of my sugar buzz after eating as much as possible. So this recipe was easy to recreate since I distinctly remember the taste and texture and presentation, as well as it being simple and quick to make. This was a great start!
[Read the origin story of Nonna’s recipes here: Nonna’s Recipes]
Nonna’s handwritten and typed recipes salvaged from her home after Hurricane Laura in 2020 
Mawmaw and Pawpaw 
Nonna typed this in 1990 from her mother’s recipe dated 1967
Nonna’s Peanut Butter Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp light Karo syrup
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter
Instructions
- Combine sugar, cocoa, karo, and salt. Add milk, mixing thoroughly.
- Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, reduce heat. Cook until mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat, add butter and peanut butter. Let cool a few minutes, then add vanilla and beat until mixture thickens.
- Poor into buttered (or wax paper lined) dish. Let cool in fridge at least 2 hours. Cut into squares and place in container lined with wax paper, using wax paper between layers.
This recipe yielded about 8 dozen little 1″ squares not quite 1″ high. I mean, give or take, I ate quite a few as I was cutting them out of the pan. When I make this again, I’ll use wax paper lining instead of buttering the sides and bottom, that way I can invert it and cut on a board. I used a 12″x9″ rectangular pan, but I think if I used a 9″ square pan, the fudge squares will be thicker. But, the recipe itself is just perfect as is.
For more in the series, click here: Nonna’s Recipes or follow the corresponding board on Pinterest.
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