Chocolate Caramel Fudge

You know its December if I'm in the kitchen making fudge. Every year I whip some up, either a new recipe I find or one I've made before. This holiday season I found a recipe for Chocolate Caramel Fudge and I just knew I had to try it. Salted Caramel and Chocolate are my friends and the combination is always a winner. The recipe looked pretty simple, too.

I ended up loving the fudge and since it made so much, I can give some as gifts. This time of year its kind of dangerous having so many sweets around, so sharing is a good thing. I think the fudge tastes better with lots of sea salt on top of the caramel, so don't be afraid when salting at the end. The sea salt brings out the chocolate and caramel flavors more. I used milk chocolate and I think the fudge would have been even more flavorful with a high quality semi chocolate or dark. But it still melts in my mouth and is very smooth and sweet, like fudge should be.

I discovered the recipe on therecipecritic.com.

Chocolate Caramel Fudge

Ingredients:  

3 cups milk chocolate chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk, full-fat

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

25 caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Sea salt, optional

Directions:

Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper - do not skip this or you likely won't be able to get your fudge out looking very nice.


Combine the milk chocolate chips (or dark or semi-sweet) and the sweetened condensed milk in a microwave safe bowl. Stir together and microwave for 30 seconds then stir for 30 seconds. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds stirring for 30 seconds in between until completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract.


Pour into the prepared pan. Spray a spatula with nonstick cooking spray and smooth the chocolate fudge. Quickly rinse out and dry the bowl. Combine the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in the bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds then stir for 30 seconds. Return the mixture to the microwave and microwave in bursts of 15 seconds stirring for 30 seconds in between until completely melted. Pour the caramel over the chocolate evenly.


 If you want a chocolate caramel swirl fudge, prepare the two layers at the same time (so they are both melted at the same time) lay down the chocolate and then immediately (because it hardens quickly) pour the caramel over in vertical lines. Using a butter-knife swirl the layers together.


If desired top the fudge pieces with sea salt. Cover tightly and place in the fridge to harden/set up overnight.


Cut the fudge with a hot wet knife. Store any leftover fudge in an airtight container in the fridge.