Part of living a life of beauty is helping it be a little SWEETER for others.

Last night two of my sons were baptized.  They each made their own personal decision to live their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ, and we wanted to celebrate!  Some beautiful friends and family came out to celebrate with us, so the boys and I wanted to treat them with a little thank you gift.  What better way to treat than with sweets?!  Hey a beautiful life knows there are times to be disciplined and eat healthy, and there are times it is OK to indulge just a little. 

So we decided to make fudge.  And well, Lori can’t just make one kind of fudge, she has to make two and add in an option for the friends with chocolate/wheat/dairy issues.    I had requests for the recipes for one in particular so I thought I would post it for everyone, and for myself included because, like many times, I altered it as I was making it.  I will also post links to the other two which were great as well.

Lori’s OUTRAGEOUS Candy Bar Fudge

For the Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line an 11″x7″ baking pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  This will make it easier to remove the fudge from the pan later and cut it.
2. In a heavy sauce pan combine butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar and milk.
3. Slowly bring mixture to a boil, being careful to stir constantly and not scorch the chocolate.  Once the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Use a hand mixer to cream the mixture to ensure there are no lumps.
4. Pour the chocolate fudge into the bottom of the prepared pan.

For the Middle Layer:

10 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1 tablespoon water

1 cup chopped salted cashews

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave caramels, butterscotch and water and microwave on medium power until they have melted.  Stir and check frequently so you don’t scorch the butterscotch.
2. Stir in the cashews and marshmallows and firmly press mixture into pan on top of the fudge.
3. Place pan in refrigerator to allow this layer to firm up a bit.

Top Layer:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a small microwave safe bowl microwave chips until melted.  Spread melted chocolate over caramel layer.  Continue chilling until firm, about 2 hours total.

To Serve:

Use the aluminum foil to lift fudge from the pan and place on a cutting board.  Peal foil away from sides.  I used a large bread knife to make long smooth cuts through the fudge, pressing down firmly.  Do not “saw” the fudge or it will crumble.  Enjoy!

The other Recipes

They definitely deserve credit because they are also each very good, they were just out shined a little.

For the Purist:

I made a creamy chocolate fudge.  I used this recipe and made minor changes.  I decreased the butter to 2 tablespoons, omitted the nuts and changed the chocolates to 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate and 1/2 cup (four squares) of Girradelli’s unsweetened chocolate.

On the Lighter Side:

I made an Almond Nut Butter cookie.  These are great because they not only don’t have any flour, but also no dairy, chocolate or peanuts so they are great for those with allergy issues.  AND a lot of people liked them!  I replaced the hersey kisses with roasted salted almonds and used almond extract instead of vanilla.  Find the recipe here.

Enjoy the SWEET LIFE!!!