lazy susan | december

our monthly recipe club, Lazy Susan, is back for another recipe round up though this time, its for those of you with a sweet tooth! if you missed last month’s first edition, you can check out our Thanksgiving feast here.

this month’s recipe is one that is very near and dear to my heart. my godmother’s Rocky Road has become a very standard Christmas tradition within our family. my godmother’s name was Irene but she went by “Aunt Meme” to us kids. Aunt Meme was my spunky grandmother’s very grounded sister and she was very much like a second grandma to me. she gave me some of the best parenting advice Ive ever received (aside from my own mother’s suggestions of course).  a large fan of “The Sopranos” and “Dancing with the Stars”, she was as current as 90 something can get and it made her all the more fun to talk to. even in my bratty teenager years, i never minded sitting down to have a chat with her. she was never overbearing and you’d usually hear her saying “well i could understand that” in her ever reassuring voice at some point in the conversation.

sadly, my beautiful Aunt Meme passed away last year. when Christmas approached,  i went on a mission to find out her infamous Rocky Road Fudge recipe. it was going to be my way to keep to her unmistakeable presence with me during Christmas. my mom, aunt and i banded together to figure out the recipe. all we knew she had grabbed it off the back of a Ghirardelli baking bar some odd years ago. Ghirardelli.com had nothing and my Google searches proved fruitless.  after 3 different grocery store scavenger hunts, i felt defeat beginning to sting and wondered if id even be able to make it this year. finally at Winco, i pulled all the Ghirardelli boxes off the shelf and sat down against the aisle like i had at the previous stores. i went through every single box and when i finally found that recipe, i felt a little like Charlie Bucket with the golden ticket. i took a photo of the recipe with my iPhone so i was never without it ever again- its now forever my piece of her during the holidays.

this has never tasted quite the same as when Aunt Meme made it but it comes pretty stinkin’close. she usually made three different batches: one plain, one with walnuts and one with walnuts and marshmallows. take your pick, you really cant go wrong.

i can imagine her laughing that i posted this on my blog since its so simple but im happy to honor her this way. 4 base ingredients and its friggin’ fantastic. please give it a go!

My Aunt Meme’s Fantastic Fudge

2 cp semi sweet chocolate chips
2 oz unsweetened cocoa baking bar (chopped)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cp chopped walnuts (optional)
marshmallows (optional)

Line an 8″ square baking dish with waved paper, set aside.

Place all chocolate and condensed milk in a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water.

yes, my stove is super dirty. please dont judge.

Stir the mixture occassionally until all the chocolate is melted.

Stir in vanilla and nuts. At this point I also stir in about 2-3 handfuls of marshmallows. I like them to melt down a bit to create swirls throughout the fudge. Then just as Im about to transfer into the dish, I pull the boiler from the heat and add a few more handfuls for chunky marshmallow bits. ps.You are allowed to assume I kinda like marshmallows.

Spread fudge in waxed paper lined dish. Refridgerate for 2 hours until firm.

Store uncovered at room temperture.

 

im so happy to introduce the next Lazy Susan sweet holiday recipe from my favorite food blogger friend, the one and only, Baked Bree!