This easy Christmas fudge is a delight of contrasts - Sweet, spicy, tart, creamy, and crunchy. Every bite of this festive fudge tastes different from the last!
Originally published December 7, 2015, 2009, Updated on 11/30/2022.
I like to include some decadent fudge in with my Christmas cookie trays, for those who - like me - have a SERIOUS sweet tooth.
What constitutes a holiday fudge can vary wildly between Christmas fudge recipes. Some will start with a basic chocolate fudge recipe, just topped with festive sprinkles or crushed candy canes.
“Candy cane fudge” can mean either a variation of that, or swirls of coloured white chocolate fudge to LOOK like candy canes - with or without peppermint flavour added.
IMHO though... this is the BEST fudge recipe for the Christmas season.
It’s rich, decadent, and kind of extravagant - the perfect recipe to spread some holiday cheer!
MY Holiday Fudge Recipe
A few years ago, I posted the instructions for how I make Candied Orange Slices, inspired by a Canadian Living recipe for a unique chocolate bark. (Which is unfortunately no longer on their website 🙁 )
I used my orange slices to make their bark, and it was fantastic, but....
I'm not a bark person, for the most part. I'm not really big on chocolate in general, and when I am, I prefer it not to be hard. Chocolate sauce on ice cream, fondue, fudge. It's a texture/sensory issue, for me.
So, I decided that I would take the same ingredients that intrigued me about their recipe, and incorporate it into my basic recipe for quick Christmas time fudge.
... and it worked SO well.
The semi sweet chocolate contrasts well with the sweetness from the candied orange and ginger, the crunch of the nuts contrast well with the chew of those two items and the cranberries.
The bright flavor of the orange and heat of the ginger pops through in various proportions, with every bite of fudge tasting different from the last.
Also: it's pretty!
The yellow ginger, orange slices, green pistachios and red cranberries make this a very festive fudge
This easy recipe is both the perfect holiday treat to serve, AND a great gift to give for the holidays!
Traditional vs Easy Fudge
There are two wildly different basic types of fudge out there.
Not only are the end results different, but the ingredients AND techniques are.
Traditional Fudge
Traditional fudge (like my Blood Orange Cranberry Traditional Fudge) is a type of sugar candy where the ingredients are boiled together, then ... disturbed.
A basic fudge recipe will usually involve heavy cream (and sometimes milk), butter, and sugar - brown and/or granulated sugar.
A candy thermometer is set up in the pot and watched until the mixture reaches the “Soft Ball Stage” - around 238 degrees, on a candy thermometer.
The actual degree to watch for may vary between recipes - “Soft Ball Stage” is a range of temperatures.
A basic vanilla fudge recipe will add vanilla extract or paste after the cooking process, while a classic chocolate fudge will add chocolate or cocoa powder at this point.
Then, the sugar mixture is beaten by hand. The beating crystallizes the sugars in the mixture, and then smooths out those crystals.
It can take a bit of practice to get the beating part right for this tasty treat- if you don’t beat long enough, your fudge won’t be smooth. If you beat too long, it can be crumbly.
Easy Fudge
Easy fudge is sweet treat that is a WHOLE lot quicker and easier to make, and doesn’t involve much physical labour at all:
A typical easy fudge recipe will usually involve less than 5 minutes of prep, and some are literally a 2 ingredient fudge recipe!
You simply melt some chocolate with some sweetened condensed milk, add whatever you want.
Pour it in a pan and let it cool, and voila - the easiest fudge recipe.
This creamy fudge also tends to be made from pretty foolproof recipes - as long as you don’t burn the chocolate or add anything weird/gritty to it, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have perfect fudge once it’s set!
I've got a few easy fudge recipes posted - Easy Ube White Chocolate Fudge, Easy Orange Cranberry Dark Chocolate Fudge, and Easy Blood Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Fudge
So, toss on a batch of one of these festive fudge recipes as edible homemade gifts, and make it a merry Christmas for everyone who receives it!
Festive Easy Fudge Ingredients
This festive fudge recipe is a bit more involved than most of my “easy” fudge recipes, in that there are some specialty ingredients involved, and some of those are things that you may want to make yourself.
That said, they are mostly relatively simple ingredients - especially when you’re in the midst of your holiday baking.
It’s a great recipe to use up bits of nuts and dried fruits that you have left over from other recipes.
A few notes on the main ingredients:
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
I like to use a nicer brand of chocolate chips for this, but you can use any semi-sweet chocolate chip brand that you like.
That said, I’ve swapped out the chips in this recipe, mostly in the spirit of “use up ingredients from other recipes”.
You can do this with dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, semi sweet chocolate chips, or - as I did when making the batch to re-shoot for this post - a mix of chips.
Want a white chocolate fudge version? Just use white chocolate chips. Easy!
Sweetened Condensed Milk
This recipe uses Sweetened Condensed Milk, which is NOT the same as heavy cream, whipping cream, or even just “condensed milk”. You can’t swap it out, or the recipe won’t work.
On that note, I noticed that my fudge recipes were turning out weird a few years ago, even though I was still using the same Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk I was using when I developed them a decade or more ago.\\
As it turns out, the US can is 14 oz by weight, or about 10 fluid ounces - or 1 ¼ cup.
I measured out a can of Canadian Eagle Brand, and it was at least 2 tablespoon short of the 1 ¼ cup mark. Annoying, but I only make these once a year, so I grudgingly opened another can to top it off.
... and it turned out perfect, as it did before.
No idea what’s going on there, but if you’re using a can that’s not specifically labeled as being 14 oz, you may want to measure and top up to 1 ¼ cups.
That, or short your chocolate chips by a handful or so.
Not the end of the world, but using less than 14 oz of the sweetened condensed milk will make a much firmer fudge.
Candied Ginger
Candied ginger - or “Crystallized Ginger” can be purchased or made.
All you need to make candied ginger is fresh ginger root, sugar, and water. Super easy, and - if you do it my way - it’s super efficient.
The way I do it is one process, but yields 3 products - Candied Ginger, Ginger Syrup, and Ginger Sugar. Click that link to go to the post!
Candied Orange Slices
Candied Orange slices CAN be purchased, but they’re definitely not as readily available as candied ginger. Trader Joe’s sells a Sweetened Dried Orange Slices product, which isn’t QUITE the same, but is close enough for the purposes of this Festive Easy Fudge.
Homemade Candied Orange Slices can easily be made at home, though, and follows a similar process to the candied ginger.
Candied orange slices are great to snack on, and make really pretty garnishes for sweets trays, cocktails, and more... so don’t worry about being “stuck” with more than you need for this recipe!
Dried Cranberries
Generally speaking, I use unflavoured Sweetened Dried Cranberries for this recipe, but the orange or cherry flavoured types work, too!
Pistachios
The most straightforward ingredient of the list - Roasted, Salted Pistachios!
If you’re using pistachios that came in their shells, remove all the shells before measuring.
How to Make Easy Christmas Fudge
The full printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through with some additional tips and info:
Before getting started, line an 8″ square baking pan with parchment paper, or grease generously with butter.
I like to spray the pan with pan spray, then line it with parchment, as shown. The cooking spray helps the parchment stick to the pan, which makes things easier when spreading!
Note: You can use aluminum foil to line your baking dish, I just find it rips easier!).
Set aside.
You want them big enough to be visible, but small enough to disperse the flavours well, and not make cutting the fudge difficult!
Combine ginger, orange slices, dried cranberries, pistachios and salt, mix well, set aside.
Nuke for 30-second intervals, stirring with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon between each, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Alternately, you can put the chips and sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan.
Cook over low- medium heat, stirring frequently until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
Note: Though many do it, I do not recommend using a double boiler.
Yes, it cooks it slowly and evenly, but it has a much higher chance of getting water into the melted chocolate. That’s the only concern, as water in melted chocolate will seize it!
Best to avoid any chance of that happening!
Note: For a prettier presentation, you can sprinkle extra fruit / nuts over top of the fudge, and gently press in before letting it set.
The thing I like about using parchment paper is that you can lift the whole slab of fudge out.
Pull the sides of the parchment down, and you can cut it much more cleanly than you can if it was still in the pan!
If your house is quite warm, you can keep it in the fridge - it just tastes best and has the best texture at room temp.
More Christmas Treats
Looking for more inspiration for your holiday goodies tray? Breakfast, sweet snack or dessert, here are a delicious recipes for you!
Candied Orange Slices
Candy Cane Biscotti
Christmas Bagels
Creme de Menthe Nanaimo Bars
Easy Gingerbread Muffins
Eggnog Muffins
Eggnog Pie
Eggnog Pudding
Eggnog Sticky Buns
Fruitcake Cookies
Gingerbread Bagels
Gingerbread Scones
Gluten-Free Candy Cane Cookies
Gluten Free Fruitcake
Gluten-Free Fruitcake Cookies
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Keto Candy Cane Cookies
No-Bake Gingerbread Pie
Noelles
Pecan Pie Cookies
Peppermint Patties
Traditional Eggnog Mousse
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Festive Easy Christmas Fudge
Equipment
- 8 inch square glass dish
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Chopped Crystallized Ginger
- ⅓ cup Chopped Candied Orange Slices
- ⅓ cup Chopped Dried Cranberries
- ⅓-1/2 cup Chopped Pistachios
- Pinch Salt
- 3 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips - About a bag and a half
- 14 oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions
- Before getting started, line an 8″ square pan with parchment paper, or grease generously with butter. Set aside.
- Combine ginger, orange slices, dried cranberries, pistachios and salt, mix well, set aside.
- Combine semi sweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. (Alternatively, combine in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth)
- Remove from heat, stir in remaining ingredients. Spread into prepared pan, chill until set.
- To serve, use a very sharp knife to cut into squares.
Video
Nutrition
Older Photos
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