Chocolate Fudge

My grandpa turned 89 this past week and had requested that I spend no money for his birthday.  In a firm tone he told me he had everything he could possibly need and I shouldn't do more than mail a card to him for his special day.  Well, I love birthdays and in my mind everyone deserves presents, so my challenge lay in not spending money but coming up with a stellar birthday present. 
Grandpa loves sweets; I swear sugar is a food group to this man.  He probably goes through a box of cookies a day.  Christmas, birthdays, and other holidays the family buys him those bags of mini candy bars, boxes of cookies, chocolates and anything that contains sugar.  For example, this Christmas we bought him 5 bags of the mini chocolate bars, three boxes of chocolates, a giant tin of cookies, plus our homemade cookies, he was out by Valentine's day.  So since Easter is the next holiday with sugary goodies, I decided that cookies and fudge would be the perfect gift. 
Let me tell you about my previous fudge making experiences.  I'm a good cook, by some would even be considered an excellent cook but fudge has been my undoing.  My family loves good fudge and countless times I have failed in this endeavor.  One time I failed bad enough that I had to throw out the pan, I'd melted the metal on the bottom.  Other times my fudge was grainy or did not set, needless to say, fudge was my nemesis. 
With much trepidation and spoon in hand, I set out to battle the demon called fudge.  The first thing I needed was a recipe.  I decided that I wanted something simple without a lot of fuss.  I went to the Foodnetwork site and typed in easy chocolate fudge.  The first recipe to pop up was Foolproof Chocolate Fudge by Eagle Brand.  I clicked on the link and low and behold, it happened to be the fudge recipe by Alton Brown.  Now, I love Alton Brown.  He cooks like my mother does.  When she was teaching me to cook she would always explain the science behind why we were adding certain ingredients and what purpose they would serve.  I always thought it was silly, but I now understand why she did it.  I can make up a recipe or substitute ingredients based on their purpose in a recipe with ease, thanks to my mom.  (Side note here, I wish she had made it as fun as Alton does, maybe I would have paid even more attention.) 

fudge in the boiling process

The ingredients were easy and pretty traditional for fudge, sugar, chocolate, evaporated milk, butter and vanilla as well as a candy thermometer and patience.  This recipe took even more of the last ingredient, patience, because I had to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down.  Let me tell you though, TOTALLY WORTH IT!  BEST FUDGE I HAVE EVER MADE!!!!!! 
So with no further ado, here's the best fudge ever recipe.  Just follow the directions to the T and you too will have perfect fudge. 

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups sugar

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Pour into the prepared pan. Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Recipe Link