While I am a baker through and through I do love making candies too. It only happens on special occasions or for the holidays but it’s something I learned from my mom. Since we were kids she would spend hours making fudge and truffles. She’d find pretty tins each year and package them up beautifully for friends, family and coworkers as gifts. Since I know she will be making her recipes every year that means if I want to make candies I need to use different recipes than hers. Since, I also have a houseful of kids and time is short I need quick and easy recipes. Lucky for you! You can’t get any quicker or easier than my 5 Ingredient Mexican Chocolate Fudge.
While I learned my love of making sweet treats from my mom I get my Mexican flare from my dad. My grandma was Mexican and we spent many holidays at her house enjoying Mexican fare. Since Mexican chocolate is a staple in Mexican cuisine and different from American chocolate I like using it. If you aren’t familiar with Mexican chocolate it is less sweet than its American counterpart and it tend to have cinnamon and almond flavors in it. You can even find some with peppers added to it. That’s why it works well in both sweet and savory foods.
My secret weapon to make my fudge recipe quicker and easier than my mom’s traditional recipe? It’s my use of NESTLÉ® La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk. If you aren’t familiar with sweetened condensed milk you are missing out on a sweet lovers secret weapon.
You can use it in candy or baking recipes but you can also add it to the tops of cookies, add a bit to your coffee or quickly make yourself some caramel. It’s an inexpensive item that you’ll want to add to your grocery shopping list to amp up your holiday baking. Then you can grab it on your next trip to Walmart in the Mexican foods aisle.
My other cheat to making this recipe is that there is no big pot and constant stirring, watching, timing and temperature checking like you get in so many candy recipes. Nope, this one takes minutes in the microwave. Literally the most taxing thing about making this fudge is waiting for it to chill so you can cut it.
- 24 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 14 oz. Can of La Lechera® Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 4 tbsp. Butter
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract or Emulsion
- Add the chocolate, La Lechera® Sweetened Condensed Milk and butter into a large microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave for 90 seconds and then stir.
- Microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again.
- If the mixture is not completely melted and smooth then microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again.
- Stir in the cinnamon and almond extract.
- Line and 8"x8" pan with parchment paper.
- Spread the chocolate mixture in the pan evenly.
- Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about an hour.
- Cut into 1" squares and serve.
- This fudge can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- If you want to gift the fudge in tins or boxes mini cupcake liners are the perfect holders for each individual piece.
The other Easter egg hunt I did was one for the adults. For some reason the males in our family always want to “help” the kids do their egg hunt and I decided it would be fun to just give them their own. I have to say it was funny and by the end they were all laughing like kids. Since this was a grown up egg hunt it did contain some candy but it also had boxes with instant lottery tickets, airplane size bottles of booze, shot glass necklaces and beer pong kits. Those boys tore into their bags faster than the kids did with theirs. Truly, it was something that everyone should add to their Easter festivities for a good laugh and loads of fun.
