THE PLEDGE

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If I ever share this recipe with anybody or let on to a soul that making it's as easy as getting a wet foot in a thunderstorm, every bite I eat of this divine concoction will go directly to my left buttock and stay there for the rest of my life! Okay, here's the recipe . . . .

INGREDIENTS
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1 Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips  - 12 ounces  (I use Trader Joe's because they're less expensive than most and wonderful, but any brand will do.)

4 to 5 Ounces of Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars, broken into squares.  (This is three of the regular 1.55 oz bars. Or you could buy one of the big 7 ounce bars, eat part of it, and then use the rest. Don't worry about getting the exact amount. It's not a big deal.)

1 Can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk  (Don't use evaporated milk! You'll have chocolate soup. Which can also be eaten in a pinch, but . . .)

Dash of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
(Or another flavor of extract if you'd rather, like mint, orange, coffee, whatever.)

Pam No-Stick Spray

Heavy Duty Foil

DIRECTIONS

Place all of the ingredients into a microwavable bowl. I use my big, four-cup, glass measuring cup with a handle. 

Zap it about 1 1/2 minutes. Take it out, stir it, put it back in for another 30 seconds. Take it out, stir. Keep doing this every 30 seconds until all of the chocolate has melted and the lumps are gone. Time will depend on your microwave. (Mine takes two minutes and 30 seconds.)

While the chocolate is melting, I line an 8x8 square pan with the foil and spray it lightly with Pam, then wipe the excess away with a paper towel. (You can prepare the pan before you start if it's been a long day and multitasking might blow your fuse.)

When the chocolate is all smooth, stir in the vanilla extract.

That's it. It's all done.  Spread it in the pan. Make pretty little swirly marks on top with your spoon. Set bowl and spoon aside to be licked later.

Refrigerate for one hour.

Lift it out of the pan, foil and all.

Peel back the foil from the sides and use a big butcher knife to cut it into 16 pieces. (4x4)

Put it back into the pan and stick it in the fridge for another hour.  (You can just wait two hours to cut it, if you want, but it's a bit more difficult to do when it's that firm. I find this way easier.)

Take it out, put the squares into air tight plastic containers. If it's a Christmas gift, use the disposable ones, slap a bow on the top and an adhesive gift tag. Ho, ho, ho. You'll get a lot of love for five minutes of "work."
 

VARIATIONS

You can have a lot of fun playing with this recipe. After the chocolate is melted, before you spread it in the pan, you may want to add some nuts, like Georgia pecans.

Maraschino cherries are nice, too. Just make sure the cherries are cut in half, well drained, and blotted completely dry with paper towels. Otherwise the cherries will make it too moist, and you'll have to eat it with a spoon. (I assure you that this, too, can be done if push comes to shove.)

Granny loves her cherry fudge. If I don't make it for her every Christmas, I hear about it till Valentine's Day, when I whip her up a double batch.

You can make a great chocolate/peanut butter version like this:  Spread half of the melted chocolate into the pan. Quickly sprinkle on a layer of Reese's peanut butter chips (You'll find them in the grocery store next to the chocolate chips.) Mash the chips down into the chocolate just a little with the backs of your fingers.

​Now gently but quickly spread on the other half of the chocolate. When you cut it, the peanut butter makes a pretty, tasty, layer in the middle. This is Dirk's favorite.

Try doing the same with Andre's mint baking chips for an after-dinner mint version. This is Ryan's and John's favorite.

If you make this and love it as much as I do, write me and tell me. If for any weird reason that I can't imagine, you don't like it, then just keep it to yourself. I hear enough griping from Dirk.