Gluten-Free Fudge

Had a bad day.  Needed to make fudge.

I've had a lot of those lately - "bad-day-must-make-fudge" kind of days.  So many, in fact, that I have this recipe memorized.  Okay, yeah, it's not very complex, but still.  I'm just sayin'.

Thank you to Nonni at Nonni's Table for turning me on to quick fudge!  This is her 5-Minute Fudge.  I had to tweak it slightly for my purposes.  Nonni claims it's never-fail, but obviously she never met anyone quite as talented at candy-making-failure as I.  I have tried this recipe many, many times, and after arduous testing, I came up with a way to make it withstand even my ability to ruin fudge.  But I'm continuing to test it, just to be sure.

This is pretty basic, and can be made using canned coconut milk.  Oh, that was a good batch...

Gluten-Free Fudge

In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, large enough to hold all of your ingredients, measure out 5 cups of powdered sugar and 2/3 cup of good quality cocoa powder.  Use a wire whisk to blend them until smooth, sifting if your powdered sugar is a little clumpy (I've discovered I don't mind a few tiny lumps and usually skip this step).  Add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, if desired.

In a microwave-safe measuring cup, cut up 1 stick of butter and pour in 1/4 cup milk (whole, skim, coconut, it all seems to work).  Microwave on high for up to one minute, until butter has melted significantly but not all the way.  Remove the measuring cup and stir the contents until the butter is melted.

Pour the liquid over the powdered sugar and cocoa mixture, resist the urge to stir, and stick the bowl in the microwave.  Cook on high for about a minute.  The liquid will start to foam up from boiling, but it won't get out of hand. 

Carefully remove the bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla (optional), stir the contents until well blended and most or all of the lumps are gone (the whisk works well for this) and press the contents into a loaf pan lined with wax paper.  Let sit until firm, cut into squares, and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

If you are a talented candy maker, unlike me, I also highly recommend Alton Brown's Chocolate Fudge.  More traditional, complex and time consuming, but oh, so good.