A favorite of millions around the world, fudge has to be one of the greats of the candy world. It’s smooth and soft to bite into, it’s sweet and silky to taste when done well.
It’s simple enough that anyone can learn how to make it, yet complex enough for becoming an expert in creating it to become its own art form.
Grown-ups and kids alike both love to make it and eat it. Fudge is one of those comfort candies that is a great time for everyone to make, and it can all be done from the comfort of your home.
With its simplicity, fudge is one of those recipes where you can pretty much add anything to it, and it still makes a great recipe.
And one of the most popular ingredients to add to a fudge’s ingredient list is good old-fashioned Hershey’s chocolate.
That other classic staple of American candy, Hershey’s chocolate has been around since the late 19th century, which makes it almost as old as the recipe for fudge itself!
Small wonder, then, that people have been adding it to their own recipes for over a hundred years!
Now, a hundred years is a long time. Certainly, that’s a lot of time for people to be coming up with their own recipes for Hershey’s fudge.
If the dozens and dozens of blog posts and articles online these days are anything to go by, you’re certainly spoiled for choice for your choices of a recipe.
That’s why we’ve taken some legwork out for you: by making this list of the best Hershey fudge recipes that will go down as such a great treat with everyone, you’ll wish you’d made more!
So, if you’re feeling like you’ve got a sweet tooth that needs feeding, let’s roll up our sleeves, wash our hands and get to our recipes!
1. Hershey’s Chocolate Fudge
A classic take on this age-old recipe, this recipe for Hershey’s fudge is bound to stir the memories and taste buds of anyone with a craving for this chocolaty candy.
With a hearty helping of cocoa powder to really bring together that fine balance of bitterness and sweet chocolate bliss, this is a great recipe to start your Hershey’s fudge odyssey with if you haven’t tried it before.
And with a surprisingly short ingredient list to go with it too, it’s also a great recipe to try if you’re new to fudge, or if you want to take your fudge-crafting skills to the next level.
Just make sure that you’ve got a dish buttered up and with parchment paper-lined around the inside.
To start, you’ll want to add the cocoa powder, salt, and sugar to a large saucepan while you mix them. Make sure they’ve combined well into a fine mixture, then you can add and stir in the milk.
Once that’s done, turn your heat on to a medium-high temperature, and keep stirring until it is beginning to boil.
Hope you’ve got a good thermometer, as you want to make sure you’ve hit that fudge sweet spot of 234 and 237 °F/ 112 and 114 °C before you remove your saucepan from your heat.
Your next step will then be adding your vanilla and butter. Make sure that you don’t stir it, otherwise, you’ll start crystallizing your fudge. You don’t want that.
Once it’s cooled to about 109 to 113 °F/ 43 to 45 °C then you can start stirring until your fudges start to lose their shine, pour it into your prepared dish, let it sit for a few hours.
2. Hershey’s Rich Cocoa Fudge
If you’re looking for a good recipe for Hershey fudge, then why not go with a recipe from the source?
These great directions from Hershey land themselves are a great place to go if you’re unsure about how to get a good result when making good chocolate fudge.
With a great, precise outline of when you should be doing what step, this recipe’s set of instructions are clear, precise, and simple.
The original site does say that this is a recipe made with pretty precise measurements in mind, which means it’s probably best not to go overboard with extras or just double your ingredients to make more.
For the best results, follow this one to the letter.
Line your dish with foil, then butter it for when you fill it. Mix your salt, cocoa, and sugar together in your mixing bowl, then you can stir in your milk over medium heat.
Keep stirring until you get a good boil going (you’re looking for a heavy bubbling/rolling effect), then, without tiring it, let the boiling mix reach 234 and 237 °F/ 112 and 114 °C.
If you don’t have a thermometer, take a small amount of your mixture, and drop it into cold water. If it turns into a softball, you’re good to go.
Nice, it’s at the right heat, take it off, then add your vanilla and butter without stirring it. Cool it at a normal room temperature until it hits 109 to 113 °F/ 43 to 45 °C.
Then you can start beating it with a whisk or spoon. Make sure that it has started to lose its sheen, before spreading it into your prepared dish, then let it cool and set for a few hours. Cut into squares, then serve!
For more tips for how to prepare this fudge, and a full list with the recipe, click the link here.
3. Chocolate And Toffee Bit Fudge
Looking for a Hershey’s fudge that’s a little different for the holiday season? Then you’ll want to try this toffee and chocolate fudge recipe.
This fun spin on the classic fudge recipe adds a little hard toffee goodness to the smooth squares of Hershey fudge.
It’s a great mix of textures that you’ll want to savor, even if you also want to wolf down as much of this deliciously sweet candy as you can.
And with the extra chocolaty flavor from Hershey’s chocolate chips, it’ll be that much harder to resist!
Remember, as always, to grease your tin and cover it in parchment paper, before moving onto to adding your evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and salt to a big enough saucepan (remember, it’s got to be big enough to not spill over whilst boiling), stirring until it starts to boil.
Once it’s boiling, turn the heat down a little, and keep stirring for bout 5 minutes. Then, once it’s removed from the heat, you can add your chocolate chips, stirring them while you add your vanilla until the chips are fully melted into the mix.
Now, you can add the signature toffee pieces to the mix, before pouring it into the buttered-up dish you prepared earlier. All that’s left to do is to let it set, cut up, and serve!
Click here for the full recipe.
4. Homemade Hershey’s Bar Old Fashioned Fudge
For a blast from the past recipe ideas, try out this old-fashioned Hershey fudge recipe, courtesy of Oh So!
Straight from the mind of a family relative, as all good fudge recipes should come from, the ingredient list for this one has all the classic extras you could want, with both extra chocolate chips and some good old marshmallow creme.
No expense was spared for this fudge!
Make sure your final pan is buttered and lined before starting this recipe, so it can go straight in from stirring.
Add your evaporated milk, butter, and sugar, to a large saucepan, stirring while it’s over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
Once it starts to boil, you’ll want to tone down to stirring, doing so only occasionally. Just to make sure nothing is sticking to the inside of your pan.
While this is happening, add your marshmallow creme to a mixing bowl. The rest of your mix will eventually be added, so make sure it’s a big one.
Add your chocolate chips to the bowl, with some extra Hershey’s chocolate bar for good measure, then pour in your boiling mixture on top of your chocolate and marshmallow mix bowl.
Stir it until it has all melted together into a smooth mix. Then you can pour it into your dish for setting, for at least a few hours in a cool area or your fridge. Make sure it’s sliced into nice little squares before serving!
5. Hershey’s Old Fashioned Cocoa Fudge
If you’re looking for an old-fashioned recipe with a bit of extra bite to it, then maybe you’d like to take a look at this take on classic Hershey’s fudge.
With no extra added sugars and sweeteners like marshmallow creme or corn syrup, this is a great recipe for people who just love the taste of pure cocoa in their fudge, with no extras to distract you from the great sweet and bitter combo.
Plus, with the subtle walnut flavor, you get to enjoy cocoa bliss, with a little added texture to it for that extra mouth-watering experience.
As usual, prepare your final dish for your mix beforehand with some butter and parchment paper. Then add your cocoa, milk, and salt to a heavy-load saucepan, and put over medium heat to boil.
Remember to keep stirring it until the mix starts to boil, then leave it alone. The magic temperature you’re looking for is 234 and 237 °F/ 112 and 114 °C, or until it forms little balls of the mix when some is dropped in cold water.
Then, you want to allow the pan to sit in some cold water. It’s easiest if you do this in a sink, with at least inches of cold water.
Whatever your cooling method, the pan needs to be at room temperature before moving on to the next step.
With a spoon, you can now mix in the butter and vanilla (make sure your butter is already melted before adding).
Keep mixing your ingredients until they start to lose their sheen. Then, you can fill the prepared dish with your mixture, adding your nuts and making sure it’s even and flat before letting it set.
In Summary
We hope that this Hershey’s fudge recipe guide has inspired you to make these or yourself. Whether you’re a hardcore Hershey’s fan or tasting this American candy for the first time. Try these recipes and you will not regret it! For more recipes similar to these ones, check out this 10 Awesome Tasting Dark Chocolate Fudge Recipes
