Granny Hollin's Peanut Butter Fudge: Janet & Marty Appel

Today is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day! O.K. this is a weird food holiday since there are several other peanut butter holidays, but I think it's a day to celebrate, especially since my friend Janet Appel sent me Granny Hollin's recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge. Janet and her husband Marty made Peanut Butter Fudge (and Chocolate Fantasy Fudge) during the holidays. So get out that jar of peanut butter and get started!

Janet Appel:

Below are photos of making fudge and the original handwritten recipe card. The typed version (below) has some of our notes on making the two types of fudge. Granny Holllin was my Papa Jack's mother. I first ate this fudge in the early 1960's when he joined our family, and we joined his family. Lucy Hollin was a great Southern cook. She always brought both types of fudge to the family reunions to go in the Hospitality Room. The Hollins have the best reunions ever: Friday through Sunday brunch at a hotel/motel. A different family organizes the reunion each year.

Peanut Butter Fudge from Granny Hollin 
Circa 1970 or earlier 
Yield ~5 pounds 

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Ingredients:
5 Cups Sugar
2 sticks butter
1 large can Carnation Cream (Evaporated Milk)
1-12 oz jar Jif Peanut Butter (creamy)
1-7 oz jar Marshmallow Crème (Kraft)
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 pinch salt

Directions: 
Combine sugar, cream, salt and butter in a heavy 6qt saucepan. Mixing thoroughly bring to a boil on high heat stirring constantly.

Continue to boil on medium heat stirring constantly (to prevent scorching) for 10 minutes or until a little dropped in cold water will form a soft ball.

Cut off heat; add peanut butter, marshmallow crème and vanilla. Beat vigorously with a large mixing spoon until peanut butter and marshmallow crème is blended. Doesn’t take but just a few minutes for it to be thick enough to pour. Pour it in a generously greased (with butter) broiler pan or cookie sheet 18x12x1.

Let cool and cut into squares. Keep in a covered metal container in refrigerator.

Recipe for Fantasy Fudge can be found on label of Marshmallow crème jars for chocolate fudge. I just substituted peanut butter using the same method. 

Note: In case the label has changed, for chocolate fudge use 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips. We add broken nuts to the chocolate fudge. We have made peanut butter fudge and added chocolate to it at the end: swirl the chocolate in, don’t melt all to one look. 

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From Janet Rudolph: Here's a photo of Marty Appel cutting fudge. So precise--with a straight-edge--it sure looks better than mine.

Dolly Appel's Bourbon Balls: Kentucky Derby Candy

Pecans soaking in Kentucky Bourbon

So what kind of Chocolate Candy should you make for the Kentucky Derby? Well, you're drinking bourbon, so why not try these bourbon balls? This is my friend Janet Appel's mother-in-law's recipe.

Read more about Janet's Family Bourbon Ball Competition HERE and HERE.

DOLLY APPEL’S BOURBON BALLS

1 1/2 pounds pecans
8 oz of Maker’s Mark Bourbon
2 oz water
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
3 pounds semisweet chocolate
3 oz paraffin

Break and combine pecans with bourbon, cover and set aside for 4 hours or more. Sift confectioners’ sugar and add pecans, adding sugar gradually to a working consistency until a small ball can be made ½ to ¾ inch in diameter. Water is to be used only to bring mixture to desired consistency. Add water only to prevent ball from falling apart. Mixture should be semi-dry. Prepare balls and place on a waxed papered cookie sheet. Place in freezer to cool. (Approx. 2 hours)

Melt chocolate and paraffin and mix well. Chocolate should not be too hot, just warm enough to work up. The warmer the mix, the thinner coating the bourbon balls will have.

Remove formed balls from the freezer when ready to coat with chocolate. With fingers dip each ball to cover half of ball and return to cookie sheet. After this step return to refrigerator to harden chocolate. (Approx. 1 hour)

To coat top half of ball when ready insert toothpick in the bottom that has already been coated and dip top in chocolate. Remove toothpick and return ball to cookie sheet. Refrigerate again to harden chocolate.
Store bourbon balls in refrigerator.

Note from Janet Appel: This recipe is at least 70 years old. It was Marty’s mother’s recipe. She loved to make chocolate candies. Fingers were used for a lot of mixing, holding, stirring. Today there are fine chocolate tools to dip with, and electric pots to melt the chocolate. Paraffin is needed no matter how good your chocolate.

Bourbon Balls, Part II

Last week my friend Janet Appel had a guest post on her family's Holiday Bourbon Balls. Great back story to these Boozy Bourbon Balls. Because Bourbon Balls are a multi-step process, here's Part II. Enjoy! I know I will. Hope Janet A saves a few for me!

JANET APPEL:  Bourbon Balls, Part II

As promised this post shows the completion of the making of our holiday Bourbon balls. For those who did not read Part 1, go here. Now I will tell you how Marty and I made his Mother’s recipe our own.

Dolly was not much on drinking. Every now and then she had a cocktail and sometimes a little wine. Being from Kentucky, Marty and I love Kentucky Bourbons, so we soak the pecans longer than her recipe calls for. Ours soaked nearly a week.

What little Bourbon that was left over Marty pours into the filling. Marty does not use water to soften the mixture, just Bourbon. Do not eat these and then drive.

Marty mixes the ingredients up, spreads them on wax paper, and uses a small cookie scooper to make the balls. He then drops the balls onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. The cookie sheet then goes into the freezer.

Chocolate dippers:  Dolly used fingers, toothpicks, spoons.

Melting Chocolate: Deluxe Chocolate Melter. Dolly used a double boiler.

Just a little paraffin is added to help the chocolate not melt in your hands. It still will. We don’t add that much.


Dipping Bourbon Balls in chocolate: Marty dips in small batches. The filling thaws if out too long.

After dipped, into the refrigerator they go.  When good and cold again, the Bourbon Balls are placed in sealed containers and kept in the refrigerator.

Now we are ready for the Christmas Eve Bourbon Ball contest. We are so going to win!

For the Recipe, go HERE.

Janet Appel's Bourbon Balls

Pecans Soaking in Bourbon

Continuing Guest Chocolate Holiday Blogs, I asked Janet Appel, the Queen of Southern Cooking, if I could repost one of her favorite recipes for Bourbon Balls. Although I've posted this recipe before, this is the first time Janet has given the 'backstory' to these Boozy Balls with several helpful hints and modifications.

Janet Appel: Bourbon Balls

Bourbon Balls are a Southern taste treat. Chocolate and Bourbon, what’s not to love? In Kentucky you always serve them during Kentucky Derby parties and during the Christmas holidays. The Bourbon is not cooked out, so you have to warn children and alcoholics these are not for just anyone.

My mother in law made wonderful Bourbon Balls and shared the recipe with my husband, Marty. He makes them every year. But last year he was challenged as the maker of the best Bourbon Balls.
My nephew, Tres, and his wife, Casey, have a different recipe, that is mighty tasty. Last Christmas Eve we had a taste test. Marty lost. But we knew the contest was rigged. The judges were Tres’ parents. How fair is that?

This year we will have another taste test. Tres’ mother mailed all of us chocolate to make Bourbon Balls. She said for another contest. I said for her to have a large supply of Bourbon Balls for the holidays.

I am going to share the recipe from the Appel side of the family. The Tripletts have not shared their secret recipe.

DOLLY APPEL’S BOURBON BALLS

1 ½ pounds pecans
8 oz of Maker’s Mark Bourbon
2 oz water
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
3 pounds semisweet chocolate
3 oz paraffin

Break and combine pecans with bourbon, cover and set aside for 4 hours or more. Sift confectioners’ sugar and add pecans, adding sugar gradually to a working consistency until a small ball can be made ½ to ¾ inch in diameter. Water is to be used only to bring mixture to desired consistency. Add water only to prevent ball from falling apart. Mixture should be semi-dry. Prepare balls and place on a waxed papered cookie sheet. Place in freezer to cool. (Approx. 2 hours)

Melt chocolate and paraffin and mix well. Chocolate should not be too hot, just warm enough to work up. The warmer the mix, the thinner coating the bourbon balls will have.

Remove formed balls from the freezer when ready to coat with chocolate. With fingers dip each ball to cover half of ball and return to cookie sheet. After this step return to refrigerator to harden chocolate. (Approx. 1 hour)

To coat top half of ball when ready insert toothpick in the bottom that has already been coated and dip top in chocolate. Remove toothpick and return ball to cookie sheet. Refrigerate again to harden chocolate.

Store bourbon balls in refrigerator.

Notes: This recipe from Marty's mother is at least 70 years old. She loved to make chocolate candies. Fingers were used for a lot of mixing, holding, stirring. Today there are fine chocolate tools to dip with, and electric pots to melt the chocolate. Paraffin is needed no matter how good your chocolate.

The recipe tells you to break pecans and then soak in Bourbon. We fill the container half way up with pecans and then cover them with Bourbon. Use good Bourbon, if you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it. We were out of Maker’s Mark and used Woodford Reserve, a mighty fine Bourbon.

The pecans have been soaking for 48 hours. You can see the line of the Bourbon. About half has soaked in. I stir the pecans regularly to make sure they all are full of the Bourbon. We will make the filling and dip them this weekend. I know the recipe says soak 4 hours. We like to really let the Bourbon soak in. That is why small children should not eat these candies.

To be Continued Next Week with Photos of the Bourbon Balls!