RECIPE of the Day - 12/20/2006

This fudge is very rich and is a great alternative to chocolate fudge. If you don't want to use macadamia nuts, you can use pecans, cashews or almonds. All of these work very well to make a delicious candy. For the Chocolate-Dipped Nuts, you can substitute other varieties for the macadamia nuts as in the fudge and they are just as delicious.

Honey-Macadamia Nut Fudge

Butter
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. half & half or cream
1/3 C. milk
2 T. honey
2 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1 recipe Chocolate-Dipped Nuts (recipe follows)

Line an 8x8x2 pan with foil, extending foil over edges of the pan.

Butter the foil; set aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2 qt. saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar, half & half, milk and honey. Cook over med. high heat to boiling, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugars. This should take about 8 min. Carefully clip a candy thermometer to side of pan.

Cook over med. low heat, stirring frequently, until thermometer reaches 236 degrees, soft-ball stage. Mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Reaching soft-ball stage should take at least 15 to 20 min. Remove
saucepan from heat. Add the 2 T. butter and the vanilla, but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to lukewarm (110 degrees). This should take 45 to 50 min.

Remove candy thermometer from saucepan. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until fudge begins to thicken. Add coarsely chopped nuts. Continue beating until mixture is very thick and just starts to lose its gloss. This should take about 10 min.
total.

Quickly turn fudge into the prepared pan. While fudge is warm, score it into 1 1/4" squares. When fudge is firm, use foil to lift it out of the pan; cut it into squares. Tightly cover the fudge and store in a cool, dry place. To serve, top the fudge pieces with Chocolate-Dipped Nuts. Makes 36 pieces.

Chocolate-Dipped Nuts

In small saucepan, melt 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips and 1 t. shortening over low heat. Add 36 whole macadamia nuts.
Stir to coat. Remove each with a fork, allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.

Allow to stand until set. Makes 36.