2 cups sugar
	  4 tablespoons cocoa
	1/8 teaspoon salt
	1/2 cup heavy cream
	1/2 cup milk (or 1/4 cup evaporated milk)
	  1 tablespoon corn syrup or honey
	  2 tablespoons butter
	  1 teaspoon vanilla

• Put the sugar, cocoa, and salt into a *big* saucepan. Fudge will expand to up to four times its volume while cooking. Mix.

• Add cream a little at a time, mixing as you go, until all cream is added. Mix well.

• Add milk, syrup or honey, and butter.

• Cook mixture on high, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil.

• Reduce heat until the mixture is merely bubbling. If too hot, mixture will expand and boil over. If too cool, mixture will not bubble. A slow, rolling boil is optimal. Cooking time begins at this stage.

• Line a 9x13 or 8x11 pan with tin foil, being careful not to puncture the foil. Make sure foil is smooth in pan.

• After mixture has cooked for about 15 minutes, begin testing it every five minutes. If recipe is doubled, double cooking time as well! Total cooking time is about 30-45 minutes for single batch. To test:
  • Fill a tall clear glass with cold tap water.
  • Drop a few drops of the mixture into the glass from just above the water surface.
  • As the mixture cooks, the drops will begin to appear less flattened on the bottom of the cup.
  • When the drop's height is at least half its width, the fudge is done.
  • Make sure you rinse and re-fill the glass before each test.

• Alternately, use a candy thermometer and stop cooking when it gets to 238 F. Cook slowly and stir often to make sure you're reading the temperature accurately.

• Remove from heat, add vanilla, and mix.

• Allow mixture to cool for a while (NOT until it hardens, just until it isn't so hot that your foil-lined pan melts. You'll know because it will start to stiffen and form a skin on the top which cracks when you touch it. If in doubt, don't wait too long!)

• Alternately, allow to cool untouched until the thermometer drops to 110-130F

• Stir mixture violently until it loses its shiny appearance and begins to stiffen.

• Pour mixture into foil-lined pan and cool in refrigerator overnight.

• Remove fudge from pan by lifting foil. If fudge hasn't hardened, Return to pan and cook some more. Note: to "rescue" undercooked (or even overcooked) fudge, add 1 cup water when you return it to the pan. That lets the sugar re-dissolve, starting the process all over again.

• Place fudge foil up on a cutting board and peel foil off. Cut with large knife by pressing knife into fudge (slicing doesn't work).

Doubling

Note: if you use evaporated milk instead of whole milk, the cooking time will be much less.

Variations

• Instead of cocoa, add 1/2 cup (64g) peanut butter *after* cooking
• Add 1/2 cup walnuts after cooking
• Omit cocoa and cook longer for caramel flavor (will harden quickly - pour into foil right after removing heat).
• Substitute maple extract for half the vanilla to make maple flavored (1/2 tsp Mapleine per 2c sugar).
• Double butter plus longer cooking for "butter caramel"
• Powdered milk flavorings - strawberry, banana, etc.
• Powdered drink mixes (the "add sugar" kind) like cherry kool-aid.
• Replace half the milk with more cream, double the butter - "buttercream"
• Add 1-2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (per 2 cups sugar) along with the cocoa, and 1/4 tsp mint along with the vanilla, to make "hot fudge".
• 1 tsp banana extract with vanilla, no cocoa, for "banana" fudge.
• Add 2 tablespoons finely ground (aka espresso grind) coffee beans with the cocoa for "coffee" (optional: sprinkle roasted beans on top)
• Combine buttercream, maple, and bacon bits - "breakfast" fudge!

Future Ideas

• Root Beer Float - Root beer extract, more cream, less butter