Butter Pecan Fudge

Christmas prep. The house handles Christmas differently than the apartment. There's room for a real tree (seven feet again, Douglas fir, the smell alone is worth the $40). There's room for stockings hung on the fireplace mantel (we have a fireplace! A non-functional, purely decorative fireplace that serves as a stocking holder and that's the best use of a non-functional fireplace I can imagine). There's room for Christmas cookies on the counter — five dozen, spread across the full counter, without needing the folding table, without needing anything except the counter that was always the dream.

Cookie inventory: sugar cookies (iced), snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, Russian tea cakes, and a new addition — gingerbread cookies, because Harper requested them and Harper's requests are delivered with the gravity of a Supreme Court ruling. I made the gingerbread dough and Harper helped cut the shapes (people, trees, stars) with the precision of a surgical resident. Brayden helped by eating the dough. Wyatt helped by watching. Biscuit helped by lying under the counter waiting for dropped pieces. A team effort.

Total cookie cost: $22 for approximately 20 dozen cookies. That's $1.10 per dozen, or about $0.09 per cookie. The receipts are photographed. The breakdown is posted. The blog readers are making the cookies. The chain continues through frosting and sprinkles.

Cookie tins for: Mama and Roy (always), Gary and Linda (always), Cody and Jessica (always), the food bank staff (new — Carol said the lunchroom was "the best it's ever smelled"), the neighbors (left on doorsteps — we're the neighbors who leave food now, and being the food neighbors is the best kind of neighbor to be), and Mrs. Patterson, Brayden's kindergarten teacher (who sent a note home that said, "These are the best cookies I've ever received from a student's family," which I am going to frame).

After tallying up twenty dozen cookies across five varieties and filling tins for Mama and Roy, the neighbors, the food bank, and Mrs. Patterson — I realized I had a few tins that needed just a little something extra to feel complete. Butter pecan fudge has been my secret filler for years: it’s rich enough to feel special, simple enough to make while the snickerdoodles are still cooling, and it packs beautifully alongside iced sugar cookies without competing for attention. When you’re the food neighbors — the ones leaving things on doorsteps — fudge is how you make sure nobody forgets you stopped by.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 36 pieces

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped and toasted
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prepare the pan. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving overhang on two sides for easy lifting. Lightly butter the lining and set aside.
Toast the pecans. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the chopped pecans for 3—4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook the base. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and salt. Stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, and cook for exactly 5 minutes, continuing to stir the entire time.
Add remaining ingredients. Remove the saucepan from heat. Immediately stir in the white chocolate chips and marshmallow creme until fully melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of the toasted pecans, reserving the rest for the top.
Pour and top. Quickly pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup pecans over the top and gently press them in.
Chill. Allow the fudge to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, or until fully set.
Cut and serve. Lift the fudge from the pan using the parchment overhang. Cut into 36 small squares with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butter Pecan Fudge — The Sweet Finish to Our Cookie-Tin Christmas