Well, I did it. I made vegan fudge. Thick, luscious, melt-in-your mouth nuggets of chocolatey bliss. Made of dark chocolate, coconut milk, vegan marshmallows, coconut sugar, vegan butter and hazelnut butter. That’s right — this is not your typical hippy dip raw vegan blah-blah-blah. This recipe is friggin DECADENT. It makes the perfect last-minute DIY Christmas gift for the vegan in your life. Or just make yourself a big ol’ batch to dive face-first into. Fair warning: if you put this out at a party it will be demolished. And fawned over. A friend of mine told me it literally gave him a “mouth-gasm” (that’s a direct quote). Just be prepared to be asked to make it year after year.

When I was brainstorming this recipe I knew I wanted to make a classic fudge, similar to the sugar-laden fudge of my past. I’m most familiar with marshmallow-based fudges, which are usually made with chocolate, heavy cream, butter, sugar and conventional marshmallows. I think this style of fudge is brilliant. It conveniently omits corn syrup — an essential ingredient in most classic fudge — whick shortens the ingredients list and simplifies the process. The result is a fudge that has a soft, bite-able texture and melt-in-your mouth quality.

Things to love about this recipe:

• It’s only 8 ingredients (not including salt).

• It takes just 10 minutes of active prep time.

• Hazelnut. Butter. Swirl.

• It’s lower sugar than regular fudge — anyone else hate sickly sweet fudge? YOU DO? Cool you’re in the right place.

• One 9” x 9” pan makes 25 big pieces or up to 50 little bites — perfect for sharing and gifting!

• Use any nut butter you like! Hazelnut is my favorite, but cashew, almond or peanut butter would also be delicious. For a nut-free option do sunflower butter or tahini.

• There is no better recipe for convincing your skeptical friends (or cousins) that, yes, dairy free / vegan foods can taste amazing!

• CHOCOLATE. Enough said.

Enjoy, y'all! — xo, Renee

Hazelnut Butter Fudge

Author: Renee Byrd / willfrolicforfood.com - Active prep time: 10 mins - Inactive prep time:  2 hours (chilling in fridge) - Total prep time: 2 hours 10 minutes - Makes: 1 9”x9” pan of fudge - PRINT THIS RECIPE

Tips: I made my own hazelnut butter by toasting 2 cups raw hazelnuts in a 325F oven for 12 minutes, rubbing off most of the skins in a kitchen towel, then processing in the food processor for 5-8 minutes until creamy smooth.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegan butter + more for buttering pan (I used Miyoko’s)

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1/2 cup coconut cream (I chill my full fat coconut milk and skim the thick cream off of the top)

• 2 cups vegan marshmallows (I used Dandies brand)

• 1 1/2 cups chopped dark 72% chocolate

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch sea salt

• 1/2 cup hazelnut butter + 1/4 cup for topping

• 1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Method:

1. Line a 9" brownie pan with parchment paper in a cross formation (this prevents wrinkles from forming on the edges of the fudge). Lightly coat the parchment and any exposed parts of the pan with vegan butter. Use masking tape to tape the edges of the parchment paper to the outside of the pan (this keeps the edges from falling into the warm fudge batter).

2. To a large sauce pot set over medium high heat, add the vegan butter, coconut sugar and coconut cream, stirring everything together to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. This happens very quickly so keep an eye on the pot.

3. Once the coconut sugar has melted, add the vegan marshmallows and continue stirring until the marshmallows have completely melted. This takes 2-3 minutes usually.

4. Cut off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, vanilla, sea salt and hazelnut butter. Stir until everything is nice and smooth.

5. Pour the fudge into your parchment lined brownie pan. Swirl 1/4 cup of hazelnut butter over top of the fudge in a pretty pattern, then top with toasted hazelnuts. For my chevron pattern I used a spoon to add four equidistant lines of hazelnut butter. Then, using a chopstick, I drew lines back and forth across the hazelnut butter.

6. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing. This fudge stores well wrapped in parchment paper and stored in the fridge. It’s safe to leave it out at room temp for a while if serving at parties or gifting — the fudge will soften up a bit at room temp, and the hazelnut butter swirl on top will become quite soft.