Oh (M.G. Boozy) Fudge!

This sweet, smooth, soft and creamy treat is usually cut into small squares and now comes in a variety of flavours – from peanut butter, maple, marshmallow and nut, to rocky road. The most popular flavour, however, is the original chocolate.

Fudge! Sweet! Creamy! Chocolate! Booze! Wait? What?! Boozy?!  Why not make “grown-up” fudge? What could be better than Boozy Fudge? Pretty much nothing!

In fact, in the true spirit of National Fudge Day, I’ve stuck to the original chocolate flavour, but used different – semi-sweet and dark – as well as added different boozes to “adultify” your fudge!

(Full and true disclosure, the fudges really aren’t that boozy and do not taste overwhelmingly of alcohol!)

Since May 16 was World Chartreuse Day, I thought I’d start with the green elixir from the French Monks. Chartreuse pairs surprisingly well with the chocolate.

Version 1: Chartreuse Chocolate Fudge

Prep time: 2 minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes + 3 hours chilling; Serves: 20 pieces (this recipe can easily be doubled)

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
• 7/8 cup (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 tbsp Chartreuse
• 1 tbsp Creme de Cacao

What you do:

• Coat a 5-inch square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. (Note grocery store was out of parchment so I lined the pan with foil and then greased the foil with butter)

• Place chocolate chips, butter, condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a pot and cook on low heat

• Stir often until melted (about 5 -8 minutes) and ingredients are combined

• Remove from heat and add Chartreuse

• Add Creme de Cacao

• Stir to incorporate

• Transfer mixture to pan and smooth top

• Refrigerate until set, 3+ hours (or up to overnight, wrapped).
• Using parchment/foil, lift fudge from pan and cut into 20 squares and then place back in the fridge to continue to let firm

Fellow Chartreuse lover Carissa, The Fermented Alaskan, made the Chartreuse Chocolate Fudge and took a way better photo than mine! (Thanks for lending it to me Carissa!) You can see this and shots of her creative cocktail exploits on her Instagram.

Version 2: Kahlua Amaro Fudge

Prep time: 2 minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes + 6+ hours chilling; Serves: 20 pieces (this recipe can easily be doubled)

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups (8 oz) DARK chocolate chips
• 7/8 cup (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp Kahlúa
• 1 1/2 tbsp Amaro Montenegro

What you do:

• Follow the directions in version 1, but use the dark chocolate instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips and use the Kahlúa/Amaro instead of the Chartreuse/Creme de Cacao
• NOTE: it may be the dark chocolate I used in this recipe, but this took a long time to set

I first tried the final version with white chocolate. Sadly, while the flavour combinations tasted great together, twice the white chocolate did not set properly. The third time was the charm and the dark chocolate came through.

Version 3: Bourbon Maple Pecan Fudge

Prep time: 2 minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes + 6+ hours chilling; Serves: 20 pieces (this recipe can easily be doubled)

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon maple butter (or use unsalted butter) cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
• 7/8 cup (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp Bourbon (I used Bulleit)
• 1 1/2 tbsp Sortilège Maple Cream (or Maple Syrup)
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted and salted Pecans (optional)

What you do:

• Follow the directions in version 1, but use the Bourbon/Sortilège Maple Cream (or syrup) instead of the Chartreuse/Creme de Cacao
• Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top before you set to cool

• NOTE: it may be the maple cream Sortilège used in this recipe, but this took a longer time to set.