TODAY’S MUSINGS:

Could  it be in the cupboard? Maybe behind the sofa? How about the record cabinet? It’s Easter morning and I’m still wearing my pajamas, hunting for dyed eggs and my Easter basket. My parents were purists. My basket never contained a book or a game or a stuffed animal, parental manipulations to temper their child’s sugar consumption. No, my basket-o-plenty was a cornucopia of chocolatey, sugary goodness.

The main basket attraction was a ubiquitous hollow, milk-chocolate Easter bunny planted atop a pastel mound of jelly beans, foil wrapped chocolate miniature eggs, candy-shelled malted robins eggs, and See’s Candies Jelly Bird Eggs. Lining my treasure, like colosseum attendees watching a battle between man and lion, were rows of yellow chick and pink bunny Peeps. And half-buried within this Everest of tummy aches and tooth cavities was the unassuming See’s Candies Chocolate Butter Egg.

This understated candy heavyweight was thirteen-and-a-half ounces of pure chocolate-enrobed fudge—unconquerable for a child, even one of my confectionery aptitude. Larger than my hand and heavier than two Barbies,  I would attempt to consume this chocolatey behemoth and each year, I would fail—miserably. I’d begin by nibbling the hard candy flowers from the top and then attempt to devour a slice or two. That was truly the only way to consume it—slicing it like a loaf of bread. This white whale of a confection seemed about the same size, too. It was just too much. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you eat a Butter Egg? You don’t. You give up and hand it over to your four teenage brothers and sisters. This  boulder of chocolate was no match for older siblings, but even still, it took a few days for them to devour it completely.

Fudge was never my thing—maybe a hangover from those childhood battles with the unconquerable Butter Egg. I’ve often found fudge a little too rich, too cloying, often gritty, and too chocolatey—until I found this quick and easy no-cook fudge recipe in 2016. I doubled the amount of walnuts from the original recipe, toasted them for flavor, added some flaky sea salt and cut the fudge into small, manageable squares. It was love at first fudgy delicious bite.

TODAY’S RECIPE:

Quick and Easy No-Cook Walnut Fudge

• Servings: 36 squares
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Loaded with toasted walnuts and sprinkled with flaky sea salt, this easy fudge recipe is the ideal bite when you want something chocolate, but not too sweet.

Ingredients

• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 bag (12 ounces) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate morsels ( I use Guittard)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted
• ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon (optional

Directions

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil with a 1-inch overhang. Coat foil with cooking spray.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. Heat on high for 90 seconds, stirring after one minute. Heat an additional 30 seconds if needed until chocolate is thoroughly melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla and walnuts.
3. Pour fudge into prepared pan and smooth. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Place fudge in refrigerator for 1-2 hours to chill and harden.
4. Using the foil overhang, remove fudge from pan, cut into 36 squares. Store in an airtight container. Fudge does not need to be refrigerated – or donated to hungry siblings.