Bailey's Fudge

Since it is St. Pat's soon, I figured something a bit festive. It didn't turn green quite like I wanted, but it is tasty and seasonal. It is dark and rich beyond measure though. I'm tempted to try it with different flavors of Bailey's now, so we'll see.

12 oz Baker's Unsweetened chocolate
24 oz Hershey's Special Dark Chips
2 TBS Vanilla
3/4 C Bailey's
3.5 C granulated white sugar
12 oz (1 can) evaporated milk
1 C Butter

1. Line a 9x13 pan with foil.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces.
3. Mix the chocolates, vanilla and Bailey's in a large bowl and set aside.
4. Bring sugar, milk & butter to around 230. (Most recipes call for soft ball and this is just below that stage. It still sets and it helps keep it from getting too grainy after a few days, so I go with the lower temp.)
5. Pour boiling potion onto chocolate mixture. Stir seven times clockwise and then once counter clockwise to help melt the chocolate and make it extra smooth. Continue with this stirring method until all the chocolate is melted.
6. Pour in lined pan and chill.

What you do after that is up to you. You can cut it for people or just eat it as it is.

I've made this before and it turned out really well. Like I said, it took me over 2 weeks to get rid of the fudge and it never granulated. :) Since I was wanting to make it for St. Pat's, I hadn't gotten around to buying the evaporated milk. I didn't want to go to the store this weekend, so I looked up ways to make your own. Chris got upset with me, "Why mess with something that is awesome and isn't broken?" he kept asking me. I eventually caved to him and made it to the store to buy a can of milk today. However, if I wanted to use heavy cream in a 1:1 replacement I could. I could also take 2 1/4 C of milk and boil it down to 1 C (or that ratio) to make the evaporated milk as well. We may see how it goes next time I try something devilish.

Next up: Peppermint Patties I just need to get the peppermint extract.