Jewels Peanut Butter Fudge Recipes

EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY FUDGE

Steps:

• Lightly butter an 8-inch-square baking pan and set aside. Combine corn syrup, both sugars, milk, baking soda, and salt in a medium-heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Insert a candy thermometer. Cook, stirring frequently, until temperature registers 236 degrees (just below soft-ball stage); don't overcook.
• Immediately remove saucepan from heat, and add chilled butter, then peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. Set aside in a cool, dry place, and let fudge set.
• Before the fudge cools completely, cut into desired shapes. Using a small melon baller, scoop out a small hole in the center of each fudge shape. Set shapes aside to cool completely. Fill a resealable plastic bag with jelly; close, and cut off a corner. Squeeze the jelly into holes. Store fudge in an airtight container up to one week.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY JEWELS

Steps:

• Place 2 oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Food Processor Method
• Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then whisk to mix evenly. In a food processor with the metal blade, process the sugars for several minutes until very fine. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Add the peanut butter and process until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and process until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and pulse in just until incorporated.
• Electric Mixer Method
• Soften the butter. Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine well. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the sugars until well mixed. Add the butter and peanut butter and beat for several minutes, until very smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. At low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated.
• For Both Methods
• Scrape the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. (This keeps the dough from cracking when shaped.)
• Measure the dough into a 1 1/4-inch cookie scoop or 2 level teaspoons and roll it between the palms of your hands to shape 1-inch balls. Place the balls 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. As soon as you roll each ball, use your index finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to make a depression going down almost to the cookie sheet in the center of each ball.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and set. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
• Cool the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes or until firm enough to lift. Use a small, angled metal spatula or pancake turner to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. If necessary, while the cookies are still hot, use the greased handle of a wooden spoon to deepen the depressions.
• Fill the centers with the cherry preserves or milk chocolate toppings.
• Cherry Preserves Topping
• In a microwave oven or a saucepan, heat the preserves until boiling. Strain the jelly into a small heavy saucepan. Place the cherries remaining in the strainer in the centers of the cookies. If some are crushed, piece them together.
• On medium heat, boil the jelly for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until, when it is dropped from the stirring spoon, the last drops gather to form one large sticky drop that hangs from the spoon. The jelly will be reduced to about 3/4 cup. Allow the jelly to cool about 1 minute or until the bubbling stops. Spoon heaping 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons over each cherry.
• Milk Chocolate Topping
• Break the chocolate into squares and place them in the top of a double boiler. Set it over hot but not simmering water. The water must not touch the bottom of the double-boiler insert. Stir until the chocolate begins to melt. Return the pan to low heat if the water cools, but be careful that the water does not get too hot. Stir the chocolate until smooth, and cool it until it is no longer warm to the touch. (The chocolate may be melted in a microwave oven if stirred every 15 seconds. Remove it before it is fully melted and stir, using residual heat to complete melting). Whisk in the softened butter. The mixture will immediately thicken. Do not overwhisk. Use a reclosable quart-size freezer bag with one corner cut off to pipe the chocolate into the centers of the cookies or use a small metal spatula to spread on a dollop. You can also use a coupler with a number 22 star decorating tube to pipe the chocolate decoratively into the centers. Allow the chocolate to set until firm.
• Store:
• Cookies filled with chocolate can be stacked in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies with cherry centers need to be placed in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature. Do not cover the surface of the cookie with plastic wrap as the cherry center remains slightly sticky.
• Keeps:
• 1 month if filled, several months unfilled.
• Smart Cookie
• • For the best texture and flavor, be sure to use commercially prepared peanut butter such as Skippy and not homemade or health food varieties, which are less smooth.
• • The dry ingredients are sifted together because baking soda has a tendency to lump.
• • Using superfine sugar will result in fewer cracks in the cookie's surface. It can be prepared easily in a food processor by processing granulated sugar for a few minutes or until it is as fine as sand.
• • These cookies are much lighter than the usual peanut butter cookie, despite the high amount of peanut butter, because there is less flour, which offsets the bulk of the peanuts.
• • For a more delicate flavor and a finer, less "sandy" texture, that does not crack, try a batch using half the amount of peanut butter. The cookies will also be flatter and crisper.
• • Cherry preserves, straight from the jar, can be placed in the center of the unbaked cookie and baked in it, but the cookie is far less attractive.
• • Allow the cookie sheet(s) to cool completely before using for the next batch.
• • Distribute the cookies evenly around the cookie sheet. Avoid crowding the cookies into one section of the cookie sheet, leaving a large area bare.
• • For a delicious variation that will enable you to pack the cherry variety without their sticking together, top the cherry centers with melted chocolate. Use 3 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces of finely chopped milk chocolate. Melt the bittersweet chocolate as indicated for the Milk Chocolate Topping. Scrape it into a small container, immediately add the finely chopped milk chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Use a small spoon to cover the cherry center with the chocolate or pipe it from a reclosable quart-size freezer bag with a small piece cut from one of the corners of the bag. Place the cookies in a cool place or the refrigerator for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate is set and no longer shiny.

JEWEL'S PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Steps:

• # One Recipe: Measure the sugar, evaporated milk, and butter into a large sauce pan. Bring to a full, rolling boil over medium heat. Cook 7 minutes to a soft-ball stage. (test by dripping a drop from a spoon in to cold water. Pour off water and a soft ball should be in the glass. Time the 7 minutes !!
• Remove from heat. Add salt, vanilla, and peanut butter. Bear with an electric mixer until candy is real stiff.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a square baking dish and pour candy into prepared dish. Cool and cut into 1.5 inch squares. Can double recipe and pour out on to a buttered 9x13 pan. Never use milk out of the refrigerator. Use canned evaporated milk.
• PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE # 2: Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed and sugar is dissolved. Cook and stir 5 minutes (use timer) AFTER mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.
• Add vanilla, peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Mix well. Pour onto a 9x13 buttered dish. COOL. MAY PRESS 3 HAND FULLS OF M & M'S ON TOP OF FUDGE BEFORE IT COOLS. Cut into squares.