Maple Pecan (or Walnut) Fudge

Version Française Ici

I’m finally getting over the flu and I’m able now to actually sit for longer periods of time at the computer and update Kitchen Culture. Not too long though since I take care now of Éric and my 2 youngest boys who got sick of course. They caught the flu too and they are miserable.

I promised I would tell you how I make the Maple Walnut Fudge. I have 2 recipes for these little sweets. Both of them give excellent results but the candies are slightly different in taste and texture. The main difference is the bulk. One recipe yields enough for a crowd or for numerous gifts if you find a nice packaging for them. The other recipe requires more attention and a candy thermometer. It’s not difficult, just a bit more delicate to make. The resulting candy is also more delicate in taste and texture.

Actually, the recipe for a crowd resulted from a mistake in the recipe for Maple Pecan Fudge from the book “Truffles, Candies & Confections” by Carole Bloom. The syrup mixture was way too liquid to crystallize properly. I added enough confectioner’s sugar to turn it into a dough-like consistency and used miniature cookie cut-out to form the candies. That saved the day. The candies were delicious and looked very pretty. Good things proved to result from mistakes in cooking and that’s what happened that day.

May be you remember these were intended for Nissa’s engagement party. Well they never made it there. I hid them from my boys so well I totally forgot to bring them to the party. I didn’t want my kids to eat them and they finally did splurge in them with their friends…

Maple Pecan (or Walnut) Fudge For a Crowd

4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter, room temperature
¾ cup (180 ml) maple syrup
1.5 cups (375 ml) half and half or light cream
3 cups (750 ml) sugar
3 tablespoons liquid glucose or corn syrup
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 cups (375 ml) walnut or pecans, roughly chopped and lightly toasted
7 to 8 cups confectioner’s sugar

Bring to a boil over medium heat the maple syrup, cream, glucose or corn syrup, sugar and salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Remove from heat, add vanilla extract and nuts.

When the mixture comes to room temperature, stir half the confectioner’s sugar with a wooden spoon.

Knead in the rest of the confectioner’s sugar, adding it little by little, until the mixture reaches a non-sticky dough consistency.

Roll out to ½ an inch thick between 2 silicone papers (or baking papers). Use miniature cookie cut-outs (or cut diamond or square shapes)to form candies. Roll out the scraps of dough and cut more candies out of them.

Allow to dry 24 hours. They will keep at least 3 weeks in a closed tin box.



Maple Pecan (or Walnut) Fudge

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cups half-and-half
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped walnuts or pecans

Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with aluminum foil that extends over the sides. Coat the foil with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Set aside.

In a 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, cook the maple syrup, half-and-half, sugar, corn syrup, and salt until the sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in warm water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Place a sugar thermometer in the pan and cook the mixture without stirring until it registers 238°F (114°C) on the thermometer.

Remove the pan from the heat, remove the thermometer from the pan, and place the thermometer in warm water to cool. Sprinkle a marble board or the back of a baking sheet with cold water and immediately pour the hot mixture onto the marble. Do not scrape out the bottom of the pan. Dot the surface of the mixture with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Let the mixture cool on the marble until it registers 110°F (43°C) on the thermometer (about 5 minutes more or less depending on the surface.)

Sprinkle on the vanilla, then use the 5-inch-wide flexible-blade scraper to gather the mixture back to the center of the marble, folding in the edges. Repeat this process until the mixture begins to thicken and lose its shine. Sprinkle on the chopped pecans and continue to work the fudge to incorporate them (about 1 minute).

Turn the fudge into the prepared pan. Use your fingertips to even the top and to press the fudge into the corners of the pan. Place the pan of fudge on a cooling rack and let it set completely at room temperature (2 hours).
Remove the fudge from the pan by lifting out the aluminum foil. Invert the fudge onto a cutting board, peel the foil off the back of the fudge, and re-invert the fudge. With a large chef's knife, cut the fudge evenly into 1-inch squares.
Between layers of waxed paper in a tightly covered container, the fudge will keep for 10 days at room temperature or 1 month in the refrigerator. The fudge is best served at room temperature.