An Easy Chocolate Fudge Candy Gift for all
Occasions
by Jackie Beem
Everyone has people in their lives that
they don't know very well, yet during the holidays or other occasions you
would like to give them a small gift just to say "I'm thinking about
you at this time", "Thank You for just being around",
"Welcome to the neighborhood" or "Thank You for the job you
do".
This might be elderly, lonely people in
your neighborhood or church, people you work with, the postman, UPS/Fedex
delivery person, paper boy, cleaning personnel in your office, new
neighbors, etc.
Because you don't know a lot about these
people's likes and dislikes it is often hard to find an inexpensive gift
for them that they won't just chunk in a drawer and forget about for years
to come. I think we all really struggle with our thoughts trying to come
up with small thoughtful gifts that people in this category can appreciate
and enjoy.
A number of years ago I found that homemade
Chocolate Fudge Candy was a good solution for this problem. It is
something that most anyone can enjoy, no matter their age or sex. It is
something they can proudly share with friends or family.
I have had to take into consideration
whether or not to add nuts. I have found that some elderly people have a
problem chewing the candy with nuts. I just make a batch without nuts for
those folks. I usually add marshmallows or cherries to their candy.
Here is a simple recipe that I use:
18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Dash salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ to 1 cup chopped nuts
In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt
chips with Sweetened Condensed Milk. Remove from heat and stir in
remaining ingredients. Spread evenly into wax Paper-lined 9x11 pan. Top
with nut halves or cherries. Spread them at intervals for the square size
you would like to have. Chill in refrigerator 2 hours or until firm. Turn
fudge onto cutting board; peel off wax paper and cut into squares.
I usually use Ziploc containers. I line
with wax paper, put a layer of Chocolate Fudge squares, then a layer of
wax paper, then more fudge squares alternating until my container is full.
I use small containers for some and medium size ones for others. At
Christmas they usually make these in red and green. I get the red and
green ones at that time and top them off with a Christmas bow which makes
a ready wrapped present ready to hand out.
When making a batch with nuts, I usually
use pecans or walnuts. If I have to make some fudge without nuts, I use
miniature marshmallows, candied cherries or coconut. I have one 96 year
old lady that loves coconut and can still chew nuts so she gets a batch
with both nuts and coconut.
Some variations are to use White Chocolate
Chips or Carmel Chips. I have also mixed in a few Carmel Chips in with the
semi-sweet Chocolate Chips.
Even though I do most of my homemade
Chocolate Fudge Candy gift giving during the Christmas holiday, I use it
for gift giving all year round.
This doesn't take a lot of time, unless you
have a lot of people you need gifts for at one time, and it is really well
received by all.
If you don't have time to make your on
Chocolate Fudge Candy gifts you can find a nice ready made Gourmet
Chocolate Fudge gift selection at: Country
Candy Delights
About the Author
Jackie Beem works from home and Fudge Candy
is one of her streams of income.
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