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Fudge · Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge

Sugar and milk cooked to the soft-ball stage, then beaten with peanut butter into creamy, melt-in-your-mouth fudge. A candy thermometer makes it reliable.

New, no ratings yet0 reviewsby Simmerbee Kitchen

Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
1 hr 25 min
Serves
36 squares
Level
Medium
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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, for the pan
    Swaps for unsalted butter

    Instead of butter

    • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
    • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
    • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

    All 4 swaps for butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter, regular, not natural-style ≈ 258 g
    Swaps for creamy peanut butter

    Instead of peanut butter

    • Sunflower seed butter: The same amount. Earthier and a little sweeter.
    • Almond or cashew butter: The same amount. Milder and less salty (add a pinch of salt).
    • Soy nut butter: The same amount. Close in taste and texture; contains soy.

    More for peanut butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    Swaps for vanilla extract

    Instead of vanilla extract

    • Vanilla bean paste: The same amount. Stronger, with visible vanilla seeds.
    • Vanilla bean: The seeds of 1 bean for each 1 tbsp extract. A deeper, floral flavor and visible seeds.
    • Alcohol-free vanilla: The same amount. Made with glycerin; a slightly milder taste.

    All 5 swaps for vanilla extract

  • 2 cups granulated sugar ≈ 400 g
    Swaps for granulated sugar

    Instead of sugar

    • Less sugar: Up to ¼ less in cookies, muffins and quick breads. Less browning and spread, a drier, more cake-like texture, and bakes go stale sooner.
    • Brown sugar: The same amount, packed. Moister and chewier, with a caramel flavor and darker color.
    • Coconut sugar: The same amount. Darker and caramel-like, a little less sweet; cookies spread slightly less.

    All 4 swaps for sugar

  • ⅔ cup whole milk
    Swaps for whole milk

    Instead of milk

    • Unsweetened soy milk: The same amount. The closest plant milk for baking: its protein helps things brown and set.
    • Unsweetened oat milk: The same amount. Creamy and mild with a hint of sweetness.
    • Unsweetened almond milk: The same amount. Thinner and less rich, so cakes are a little paler and drier.

    All 5 swaps for milk

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
    Swaps for unsalted butter

    Instead of butter

    • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
    • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
    • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

    All 4 swaps for butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • 1 pinch kosher salt
    Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.

Steps

  1. Line (how to line a pan) Line a pan Cover the bottom (and sometimes sides) of a pan with parchment or foil so food doesn't stick and lifts out easily. 1. For a sheet pan, tear parchment the size of the pan and lay it flat.2. For a round cake pan, trace the bottom on parchment, cut the circle out and press it in.3. For brownies and bars, leave two long sides hanging over to make handles (a "sling").4. A little grease under the paper holds it in place. Done when: The paper lies flat with no folds where the batter could run under it. How to line a baking pan with parchment: mistakes to avoid
    an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper and rub it with the 1 tablespoon of butter.
  2. Measure the peanut butter and vanilla into a bowl and set it next to the stove. The last steps move fast.
  3. In a heavy saucepan, stir the sugar, milk, 2 tablespoons butter and salt over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a
    boil (how to boil) Boil Heat liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. 1. Use a pot big enough that the water fills it no more than three quarters.2. Cover it to boil faster, over high heat.3. Salt pasta or vegetable water once it boils.4. Add the food, stir, and bring it back to a boil before you start timing. Done when: A rolling boil keeps bubbling hard even when you stir. Safety: Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, and drain pasta into a colander in the sink, pouring away from you. Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to boil water for pasta and vegetables: mistakes to avoid
    .
  4. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan so the tip is in the syrup but not touching the bottom.
  5. Boil, stirring gently only now and then, until the thermometer reads 236°F (soft-ball stage). Go by the thermometer, not the timer.
    236°F⏱ Boil to 236°F: 8 min
  6. Take the pan off the heat right away. The syrup is extremely hot, so keep children and pets away from the stove.
  7. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir hard with a wooden spoon until smooth and the fudge begins to thicken and lose its shine.
    ⏱ Beat: 2 min
  8. Quickly pour the fudge into the pan and smooth the top before it sets.
  9. Let the fudge cool at room temperature until firm.
    ⏱ Set: 1 hr
  10. Lift the fudge out with the parchment and cut it into 6 rows each way.

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

  • Check your thermometer first: in boiling water it should read 212°F at sea level. If it reads 210°F, aim for 234°F instead.
  • If the fudge stays soft, it was pulled off before 236°F. If it is crumbly, it went too far or was beaten too long.
  • Natural peanut butter separates and can make the fudge greasy. Use the regular kind.

Storage

Airtight at room temperature up to 1 week, or refrigerated up to 2 weeks.

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage.

Quick answers

What can I swap?
  • Instead of butter: Salted butter.
  • Instead of peanut butter: Sunflower seed butter, the same amount.

Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.

Estimated nutrition per serving

Calories
100
Protein
2 g
Carbohydrates
13 g
Fiber
0 g
Sugars
12 g
Fat
5 g
Saturated fat
1.5 g
Sodium
35 mg

Whole recipe, 36 servings: about 3,510 calories.

Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 7 of 7 ingredients.

How we estimate

We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 36 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.

Estimated cost

About $0.10 a serving

About $3.20 for the recipe as written (36 servings).

Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from BLS Average Price Data and USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 5 of 7 ingredients, 99% by weight.

How we estimate

Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.

  • creamy peanut butter $1.75 ERS
  • granulated sugar $0.90 BLS
  • unsalted butter $0.25 BLS
  • whole milk $0.15 BLS
  • unsalted butter $0.10 BLS

Not priced (no official average price we can match, so not in the total): vanilla extract, kosher salt.

More dishes for less: cheap eats.

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Cleanup score 3/5 (some cleanup): 3 things to wash, saucepan, 8x8 pan, mixing bowl.

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