Homemade Fudge Recipe
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This homemade fudge recipe is easy to make with minimal ingredients and it makes a great gift!
Tis the season…. to eat fudge!
Healthy, homemade fudge. Couldn’t you just do the Snoopy Dance in your driveway?
I could, but maybe that’s just me. I’m a little odd that way.
But then, this is fudge. Clean eating fudge. How many times do you get to put those words together in the same sentence?
Here’s how this came about….
I found a recipe on Food.com for clean eating fudge not too long ago, and decided to give it a try. The texture came out well, but the flavor left a lot to be desired. In fact, all I tasted was coconut, coconut, and more coconut.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I think of a good homemade fudge recipe, I think of mouth-watering, flavor explosions that send me into fits. That should be a common experience among fudge eaters in my humble opinion. I mean, why eat it if it doesn’t send you straight to heaven?
So I fiddled with the recipe a bit, and wouldn’t you know it, I ended up with TWO recipes that sent me right up to cloud 9. I mean, I had the little wings, the white dress, the harp and everything. And oh ya, I had fudge. Clean eating fudge.
Need I say more?
MORE HOMEMADE DESSERT RECIPES:
HOMEMADE FUNDGE RECIPE:
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- ½ cup coconut butter (may need to be warmed slightly. NOT melted, warmed.)
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. bourbon vanilla extract (regular extract works too)
For Orange Fudge Add:
- 4 tsp. orange extract
- 1 tbsp. orange zest
For Mint Fudge Add:
- 1 tsp. good quality mint extract (Get good quality extract. It makes all the difference)
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Place in a small (usually square) dish and place in the fridge to firm. (The Tupperware dish I used measured 5-1/2 X 5-1/2 inches.)
- Chill for 2 hours, then cut. These are rich, so cut them small. I cut mine 6 times in both directions. (approximately 3/4" squares)
- Note: If you'd like to make both flavors, double the base recipe. When mixed, divide in half and add your flavoring.
Notes
Nutrition
Oh, my goodness, lucky me- my husband just ordered some coconut butter for me. And fudge is one of my favorite holiday-time desserts. AND I JUST renewed my commitment to eating well (again.)
Can you tell I’m excited about this recipe?!
Sarah – LOL. Yay!! Good for you for committing to getting healthy! Enjoy the fudge!
Sounds Yummy!
Cindy – Yummy doesn’t even begin to describe it!
I don’t have coconut butter, so I substituted all-natural peanut butter (the kind you have to refrigerate). SOOOOO good. 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe!
Dana – Fantastic! What a great substitution!
How adorable that you made it look like a little gift!! I’m DYING!
Nicholette – Glad you like it! It was a fun little project.
What’s coconut butter? I’ve never seen it. Where do you buy it?
Linda – You can find it at many health food stores. It’s usually in by the olive oils and sauces.
OMG subbing peanut butter worked!? I love LOVE LOVE peanut butter fudge!! I’m now sitting here imagining all the possibilities that you could do with this!
Lindsay – Yes! The possibilities are endless!
My hubby and I just made the mint one… it is amazing! Our daughter loved it too, she kept sticking her fingers in the bowl! One question though, do you melt your coconut butter so it’s oil, or did you manage to mix it as a solid? One other tip I would add would be to make sure you sift the cocoa powder, so you don’t have lumpy fudge! Can’t wait until it cools!
Janet – Thanks for pointing that out. I think I neglected to add that to the recipe. I DID warm the fudge slightly by putting it in the oven for a few minutes. Just enough to make it pliable.
Thanks for the cocoa powder tip!
What kind of Coconut butter did you use? I have Artisana but it is pretty fibrous. Wondering if I would need to process it down to be smoother?
Jamie – Artisana is the one I use too. You may need to warm it slightly to get it to mix properly.
I didn’t have coconut butter, so I substituted natural peanut butter on the suggestion of other posters. It was delicious! My family loved it.
Linda – That’s wonderful! So happy it turned out well for you!
Do you consider coconut butter and coconut oil the same thing? I have coconut oil which is solid some of the time and liquid other times (I guess our room temp is right on the cusp). Should I be looking for coconut butter?
Sheri – I read last night that the difference is this:
Coconut butter is has the coconut meat blended in.
Coconut oil is just the oil
These do two very different things in baking/cooking.
Hope that helps.
I haven’t made this yet, but am wondering if the consistency of this mix would allow you to make truffles out of it?? Then, you could coat with unsweetened coconut, chopped nuts, cocoa powder for clean truffles. For those that have made this, do you think you could roll these into balls before refrigerating?
Melanie – It’s not the same consistency as the inside of a truffle. It truly is a fudge. It doesn’t have that really creamy texture that a truffle has. That said, you might be able to add a bit of coconut oil to the recipe, but I can’t guarantee how it would turn out.
You could probably roll it into balls, but you’d have to experiment with the temperature.
that’s interesting about coconut butter… I had thought (and read) that the butter is just the oil, solidified. Maybe its different here in Canada. We used oil in our recipe then, and it worked out great! How do you store your fudge?
Janet – I store it in the fridge. If it gets too warm, the coconut butter separates and sits in the bottom of the container.
How is bourbon vanilla different from regular vanilla? Does it make a difference in the taste of the recipe?
Stephanie – If you don’t have it, use regular vanilla extract. Bourbon vanilla is made with bourbon as apposed to other alcohol. It does have a different flavor, but I think the outcome of the final recipe will work just fine with regular vanilla extract too.
Will raw honey work in this? Same as honey from a bear?
Heather – Yes, raw honey will work.
So I can’t find coconut butter anywhere, I use coconut oil often…would it work the same with oil? I use coconut oil in some of my clean cookie recipes, and its wonderful…little hint of coconut. When I make stir fry, I use the coconut oil too, or thai food…..love it!
Heather – Coconut oil and coconut butter are two different animals. You could certainly try to make it with the oil, but I can’t guarantee that it will set properly. It’s worth a shot though. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
We have made ours both tines with coconut oil, and it’s been perfect! It is a little bit like a truffle if you keep it in the fridge, and more like fudge if you jeep it in the freezer! Either way it’s soo yummy!!
Janet – That’s fabulous! I’m so happy it works with the oil. The oil seems to be a bit more readily available for many people. Thanks for letting me know!
I can’t wait to get back to the States to be able to purchase a lot of these specialty products. This will be my first recipe when we go back!!
Kim – Fabulous! I really think you’ll like this. It’s so very delicious!
Does it have to be bourbon vanilla? And if I just want chocolate fudge, should I add anything to the base?
Kim – No, you can use regular vanilla. And if you don’t want the flavor, you can just leave the flavorings out and see if you like that. Maybe try making a 1/2 batch first to see if it’s a flavor you will enjoy. They are pretty rich.
Gina – Really?? Wow! I will have to try that. Thanks so much!
Yum I can’t to make these! Is coconut butter different from coconut oil?
Yes it is.
Thank you for sharing! I was just going to beg you to come up with a clean eating version of something with chocolate and mint. I am doing a cleanse and almost caved when I scooped my son some mint chip ice cream. CANNOT wait to make this.
Jennifer – My pleasure! I’ve been in that place a few times myself. Not a good place to be.
Are you sure honey is okay to eat with all that sugar? I am trying to not eat refined sugars, and I’m afraid if I eat anything with too many grams of sugar, the addiction will start all over again!
Bre – That’s actually a two sided question, so let’s pick it apart.
Clean eating is about avoiding processed sugars. So for example, white, granulated sugar would not be clean. Honey is not processed. Particularly raw honey. So it is clean.
But what you are asking about here is the amount of sugar contained in honey, and that has nothing to do with processing. That has to do with the amount of natural sugars the honey naturally contains. Even with clean sugars, you should always use moderation. My desserts are not intended to be eaten regularly. They are meant to be treats every once in a while in place of something more processed. If you are concerned about craving sugar, that is sugar addiction and is completely separate from clean eating in regards to your question above. If you are concerned about sugar intake, then you would not want to go crazy with fudge or any other dessert, clean or not. I hope that makes sense.