When I was a kid, my Gram used to always make fudge. She never made cookies, or cakes that I can recall, but she always had fudge around, and it was the way fudge should be–crumbly, sugary, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I tried for years to get the recipe from her, and I followed her around in the kitchen to see how she did it.

She’d add a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and oh, a bit more of this. Then she’d cook the sugar mixture until it had reached a certain stage, the stage when she would hold the spoon up above the pot, and if it looked like a hair, then it was at the right stage (soft ball).

The following recipe produces a fudge that is very close to what my Gram used to make, and actually, when I eat it I feel like I’m back at her house, sitting on her couch waiting for the Christmas presents to be passed around. This recipe uses actual measurements and a candy thermometre. If you don’t have a candy thermometre you can find them at kitchen stores.

2 cups light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugars, evaporated milk, and butter.
Cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly till soft ball stage is reached (238 degrees F on a candy thermometre).
Remove from heat, and vanilla, and let cool a little.
Beat with a wooden spoon till it loses its gloss.
If desired at this point you can add in chopped pecans, however I never do this, neither did my Gram.
Pour into a buttered 8″ pan.
Cool till almost firm, then cut into squares while you still can, as it hardens quickly.

Store in refrigerator.