Woah Nellie!

by Mary Jo David

The new year is bringing a change to Woah Nellie! While the column name will remain the same, this year’s focus will be on special recipes—the older the better—submitted by folks in our community. I will continue to try my hand at making these recipes and share the results with all of you.

As if changing focus isn’t enough, I’ve added more pressure this month by selecting a recipe from Judy Williams, our Stockbridge Community News treasurer. If you know Judy—and many of you do—she is a perfectionist. If you know me, you know I’m not!

A few years back, Judy created a cookbook of family recipes for her (adult) children and grandkids. She even went the extra mile and named some of the recipes after the family member who had dubbed the recipe a “favorite.”

For this month’s column, Judy submitted her recipe for “Sarah’s Have-Another Peanut Butter Fudge.” The recipe has been handed down from Judy’s grandmother, Elva Anderson, and as you’ve probably guessed, it is a favorite of Judy’s daughter-in-law Sarah.

Here’s something I learned the hard way when making this peanut butter fudge recipe (but don’t tell Judy!): If you don’t have mini marshmallows, find a store that is open all night. That will be easier than trying to cut large marshmallows into minis, especially if you’re the kind of person who hates sticky fingers!

Other notes about my experience with this recipe:

• I cut this recipe amount in half and spread the finished mixture into a 10-by-7-inch pan.
• I used the cold water “soft ball test” AND a candy thermometer. Still, my fudge turned out slightly more crumbly than Judy’s, an indication that I may have heated the sugar/milk mixture a bit too much.
• I followed the step for putting the pan in cold water to cool down and thicken the mixture, but my mixture was really already thick enough. Judy later told me she skips this step.

I must say, I’m going to like this new Nellie column format. When I have a recipe question, instead of having to pull out my Ouija board to channel a syndicated columnist who has long since passed away, I can simply “phone a friend.” For example, I phoned Judy to ask what to do after I poured the fudge into the buttered dish. Judy told me to just leave it overnight at room temperature and cut the fudge in the morning using a sharp knife.

I also lucked out because in addition to providing the recipe, Judy “gifted” me with some of her own peanut butter fudge (see photo). While the flavor of my batch was pretty tasty, my fudge did not hold a candle to Judy’s when it came to texture, but then, it’s tough to mess with perfection.

As Mark Twain once said, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” (Toss that thought into cold water and see if it takes shape. 😊)

A trip to the store is definitely easier than trying to cut regular marshmallows into “minis.” Photo credit: Gary Hicks

Practice makes perfect! Even taking into account I added walnuts to my fudge and Judy Williams does not, Judy’s fudge (shown on left of plate above) is much smoother and less crumbly than my attempt (shown on right) using the same recipe. Photo credit: Mary Jo David