Hi Jimmy! Thank you for sharing your experience and feedback. I really appreciate it. I’m sorry to hear the fudge didn’t set properly for you, especially after trying it twice. It sounds like you’ve got a lot of fudge-making experience, so I can understand how frustrating this must have been.
The greased pan helps keep the parchment from sliding around when pouring in the hot fudge, but skipping that step shouldn’t impact the recipe’s outcome.
As for the setting issue, it’s likely tied to the cooking stage. The mixture needs to reach a full rolling boil and stay there for 2 minutes; otherwise, the fudge can remain too soft. Humidity or slight temperature variations can also play a role.

If you’d like to repurpose your fudge, you could try rolling it into truffles (chilling the mixture until firm enough to scoop, then coating in cocoa powder or nuts) or warming it slightly to use as a drizzle for ice cream or brownies. I hope this helps, and I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try!

Hi Monica! Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the process, but I’m sorry to hear about the softness. You’re absolutely right, letting the fudge cool at room temperature before chilling can help it set more evenly. I’ll revisit the instructions to make that step clearer for others as well.

It also sounds like you nailed the timing on the boiling step, which is key for proper consistency, so you did everything right there. Sometimes factors like humidity or the exact size of the pan can play a role in how quickly it sets. I hope that after refrigerating overnight, it turned out perfect for you! Please let me know how it worked out. I’d love to hear!

Made this recipe and followed it per instructions and had no issues. However, at the 2 hour chilling mark it was still really soft. Went back to instructions to make sure I didn’t miss anything and I didn’t. I did scroll up through the blog and saw that you recommend letting it set at room temperature for awhile to set before storing it. So, I’m wondering if the instructions should say after you put it in the dish let it cool to room temperature and then chill for 2 hours? Then I read comments and others have had the same issue with it being too soft. After 7 hours it was better but still soft in parts. I went ahead and cut it up really fast and put back in the fridge and hopefully that helps it. It definitely cooked long enough it was boiling towards the top of my pan I was afraid it would spill but thankfully it didn’t lol. Then I set the timer for 2 minutes. I’ll check on it in the morning and hopefully it will be as it should.

made this earlier today and I’m disappointed. I’ve been making fudge for more years than I can even remember. nothing wrong with the recipe but it just lacks something I can’t quite place. also….if you’re pouring your fudge batter onto a parchment paper lined pan, why on earth would you also grease the pan? that made no sense and I ommited that step. I could not get this recipe to set and I made it twice. the last batch I put in the fridge to cool at 1pm…it’s now almost 8pm same day and I have a big glob of chocolate goop. the first batch only set half deep and bottom and sides were goop. does anyone have a recipe to repurpose botched fudge?

Thank you so much Kate for the kind words. I’m thrilled you love the recipe! A peanut butter version sounds absolutely amazing. I haven’t tried converting this recipe yet. Because candy making can be so precise, swapping the chocolate for peanut butter might not give the same results. That said, creating a peanut butter fudge recipe is definitely on my list, and I’ll be sure to share it once I’ve perfected it. Stay tuned!

Hi Kylee. That’s a great question! Unfortunately, cocoa powder can’t be substituted for semisweet chocolate chips when making fudge or most candies. The chocolate chips provide both fat and sugar that are essential for the fudge’s texture and flavor. Cocoa powder lacks that fat content, so using it would affect the consistency, making the fudge too dry and grainy.
Unfortunately, with candy making everything has to be precise. I hope this helps and please let me know if you get a chance to make this fudge.

Thank you Alyson and I couldn’t agree more. It was such a common practice to not share in the 70’s and 80’s when people had a really great recipe. However, my parents were all about sharing and I am so glad they were. I still have so many more to publish one of these days.
I hope you stay cool and have fun with the holiday planning.