Peppermint Fudge

Easy Fudge Ingredients

This easy fudge recipe comes together with just a few ingredients and in under 10 minutes. One thing I love about making fudge is that the basis for all easy fudge recipes is sweetened condensed milk, baking chips, and then whatever you are flavoring it with. The amounts of each vary, but that is the basic recipe. For the full measurements of each ingredient for this peppermint fudge, see the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• White Chocolate chips. See my tips below on melting white chocolate.
• Sweetened condensed milk. Make sure you do not buy evaporated milk. The cans are next to each other in the grocery store and look almost identical. Please be sure to buy name brand sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk will cause this recipe to fail.
• Peppermint extract. This is the key ingredient responsible for the peppermint flavor. You could alternatively use mint extract if you prefer the flavor.
• Red food coloring. This gives the fudge the festive red swirls that make it look like a candy cane.
• Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. It gives the gorgeous look of crushed candy canes without the weird crunch.

How to Make Peppermint Fuge

This peppermint fudge comes together in 10 minutes, making it perfect for throwing together the night before a holiday gathering. Due to how few ingredients there are, you want the low and even heat of the stovetop rather than the microwave. For the full recipe, including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. Prepare your workspace. This type of fudge sets very quickly, so it is important to have everything ready before melting the white chocolate. Line your pan with foil and set out your peppermint and measuring spoon, red food coloring, measured peppermint chips, and a butter knife next to the pan.
2. Melt the chocolate. Combine the white chocolate chips and the sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth.
3. Add the peppermint. Working quickly, pour the peppermint extract into the fudge mix, and pour half (roughly) of the fudge mixture into the pan. 
4. Make the red swirls. Add a few drops of red food coloring dispersed throughout the surface of the fudge. Gently swirl the food coloring in with a butter knife.
5. Add the rest of the fudge. Give it one or two more swirls, but don’t overdo it, or the fudge will be pink.
6. Top with baking chips. Quickly pour the baking chips over the top of the fudge and let set overnight.

Melting White Chocolate

The only tricky part of this recipe might be the melting of the white chocolate chips. If it gets overheated, it can seize, making it rough and hard to work with. Here are some tips and tricks to keep your white chocolate happy.

• Stir it like you’ve never stirred before. If there are still lumps in your chocolate, resist putting it back in the microwave before stirring REALLY hard. It likely just needs a little more stirring and not more melting.
• The bags of chips you buy at the store typically have instructions for melting, so follow those instructions for the best results.
• Melt in the microwave instead of on the stovetop. If you use a double boiler, there is a much higher risk of moisture getting into the chocolate and making it seize.
• Use a dry bowl to melt it. Even a small amount of water in white chocolate can make it seize.
• If you do everything right above and your chocolate still seizes, you can fix it easily by adding a little vegetable shortening and stirring it in really well.

After your fudge has completely set (this usually takes about four hours on the countertop or a little less time in the refrigerator), remove it from the foil and cut it into squares.

• If the baking pan you use has rounded corners, cut off just enough of the edge so that the fudge no longer has a rounded edge. This will give every piece of fudge a nice flat bottom.
• Cut the remaining block of fudge into four equal squares.
• Next, cut each of the smaller squares into 9 pieces by cutting them into thirds one way, turning them, and cutting them into thirds again.
• This will give you 36 equal-sized pieces of fudge. 

Storing and Freezing

Store your peppermint fudge at room temperature for up to two weeks. Fudge doesn’t need to be refrigerated, however, is great for freezing. To freeze, place the batch of cut fudge into a one-gallon freezer bag in a flat layer and store it in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to eat or gift it, let it thaw on your counter for an hour or two.

Other Easy Fudge Recipes

From Bailey’s Fudge to Eggnog Fudge, I have tons of easy fudge recipes perfect for holiday gatherings and gifts for those you appreciate this time of year.

• Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
• Mint Chocolate Fudge
• Rum Chata Fudge Recipe
• S’mores Fudge

If you make any of these easy fudge recipes, leave me a comment in the space below the recipe card and let me know what you think.