Melt-in-Your-Mouth Velvet Fudge

Ah, Christmas. That season of the year when everything we eat goes straight to our waistline… you know, iced sugar cookies, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, Christmas candies… and one of my favorites: fudge. However, I don’t like most types of fudge. They’re too sweet, too grainy, too rich, etc. That’s why I love this recipe.

Years ago, my mom got this recipe from a customer. The woman had given some to my parents during a job, and my mom loved it so much that she asked for the recipe. I wish I knew who to credit, so mystery lady – thank you for introducing this fudge to my family!

This fudge is nearly foolproof and very simple to make! Here’s the ingredients:

2 lbs. of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
2 sticks of butter (NO SUBSTITUTES – has to be the real deal)

and….

8 oz. of Velveeta

Yep, you heard me. Velveeta. I know, it sounds crazy! But the Velveeta is what gives this fudge such a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture. And I promise – you can’t detect a cheesy taste! So, just bear with me, and give it a shot – you’ll be surprised!

First, you HAVE to sift the powdered sugar and cocoa. This is non-negotiable. I’ve tried skipping this, and you end up with huge chunks of cocoa and/or powdered sugar in the fudge. Not cool. See, this is why you sift:

Cut the butter and Velveeta into chunks so they’ll melt more easily.

Then, melt the butter and Velveeta – very slowly, or the Velveeta will clump up. And you don’t want to bite into a hard chunk of cheese when you’re eating fudge… I have never melted them on the stove – I’ve always done it in the microwave on low power for short increments of time.

Once it’s melted, add the vanilla and powdered sugar/cocoa mix. Add the mixture a bit at a time and stir it in until you’ve incorporated all of it.

Put the batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Pat it out with your hands (believe me, it won’t stick to you). Now, you see this sheen on the top?

I don’t like that. That’s basically a coating of butter… and you know, there’s no reason to make this even more terrible for your waistline, right? So, I grab a few paper towels to soak it up.

There – doesn’t that look much better? Just pat it out again to get rid of the towel texture.

Now, here’s the kicker – DO NOT eat this fudge while it’s warm. You’ll be able to taste the cheese. It’s the only time you’ll be able to. You have to let it cool completely (yeah, my family tends to stick it in the fridge to speed up the process!) before you eat it.

Yum… doesn’t that look delicious?