White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge from Taste of Home

I love fudge.  I don't think there's anything more satisfying than buying four quarter-pound pieces, all different flavors, and taking them home in a little white cardboard box with a plastic knife!  I love slicing off just a smidge to taste the incredible flavors.  I love the whole artisan process and have often watched fudge being made in the big copper pots with a wooden paddle.  It's fascinating!  One of my favorite places to buy fudge is The Yankee Peddler in Greenwich, New York, a beautiful store.  Upstairs it is a Christmas wonderland, with beautifully decorated trees and every Department 56 collectable you can imagine.  Downstairs, you will find all kinds of beautiful gifts for the home as well as specialty foods and kitchen items.  The heart of the first floor is an old-fashioned candy counter which features superior-quality chocolates by the pound (you can select all your favorites, including sugar-free), jelly beans, striped candy sticks, and FUDGE.  My daughter Katie had their boxed chocolates as favors at her wedding.  The last time I stopped in, two weekends ago, I chose the following fudge flavors:  chocolate (a purist), maple walnut, amaretto, and pumpkin spice.  I took the goods home and we all, very slowly and gradually, slivered those quarter pound pieces away until, surprise!, there was nothing left.  Yep, it's an indulgence, but fudge isn't something most people eat every day.  It is a special treat, and should remain so.
The holiday season is the perfect time to provide my readers with a recipe for White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge.  It comes from TasteofHome.com, a beautiful Web site and a fruitful resource for tried-and-true recipes.  You will need a candy thermometer for this one.  If you don't have one, borrow one or go buy one for yourself.  It's a good tool to have in your kitchen, it's not expensive, and you'll be grateful you have one when it comes to making special holiday candies. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT FUDGE
from Taste of Home
81 ServingsPrep: 10 min. Cook: 10 min. + chilling
Ingredients

1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup butter, softened, divided
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
12 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

•Line a 9-in. square pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside.

•In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, sour cream and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil; cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage), about 5 minutes.

•Remove from the heat; stir in white chocolate and marshmallow creme until melted. Fold in peppermint candy and extract. Pour into prepared pan. Chill until firm.

•Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 pounds.

Recipe and Photo Credit:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/White-Chocolate-Peppermint-Fudge/Print