Mildly sweet, beautifully festive and bursting with the fresh flavor of citrus. Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge is a wonderful addition to your Holiday table.
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When I told my husband that I was working on this Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge recipe all I heard from him was belly aching about how he hates fudge.
On and on about how horrible fudge is and why do I have to put stuff inside of stuff and why do I have to make fudge in the first place….
Paul likes to tease me a lot but he was dead serious about his disdain for fudge.
You can image how surprised I was this morning when he asked to try a piece of this Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge. Guess what?
He loved it and has been munching on it all day.
To be honest with you it didn’t surprise me that he loved this candy 1) because we have been down this road of him swearing his hatred for certain foods and then falling in love with it when he has my version more times than I can count, 2) I worked really hard on this recipe and 3) it really is delicious.
This Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge is not as sweet as most fudge and has a beautiful fresh citrus flavor with chewy cranberries and nutty pistachios. A true Christmas delight!
Tips On How To Make Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge
- DO NOT USE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS to make this fudge. White chocolate chips do not have enough cocoa butter in them and the fudge turns out waxy. You will want a good quality white chocolate bar. The bars have a much higher percentage of cocoa butter which in turns yields a much smoother fudge.
- Trader Joes stacks their shelves this time of year with their Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk. It is a great price for organic and it works perfect in this Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge recipe. Here is a secret, I stalk up on it this time of year so that I have plenty come summer to make homemade ice cream.
- I have fallen in love with LorAnn Oils. They make excellent candies and taste wonderful in baking. My next hope is they come out with organic oils. (affiliate)
- Line your pan with foil. I adapted this recipe from womansday.com and they had the wonderful idea of lining the pan first with foil. It makes this fudge so much easier to cut. To do so, turn the pan face down and forming the foil around the outside of pan. Turn pan right side up and foil should slide easily in.
More White Chocolate Holiday Recipes
Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes– Baking a Moment
White Chocolate Buckeyes– The Gold Lining Girl
Practically Perfect Peppermint Fudge– Mom On Timeout
Simple Orange Cranberry Pistachio Fudge
Ingredients
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 24 oz good quality white chocolate *finely chopped, see Note #1 below
- 1 tsp orange extract or orange oil *see tips above in post
- 1 tsp orange zest *optional
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup shelled pistachios *raw & unsalted
Instructions
- Line a 8 x 10 inch baking pan with foil by turning the pan face down and forming the foil around the outside of pan. Turn pan right side up and foil should slide in easily. Gently press excess foil into side of outside of pan.
- Heat & consistently stir sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over medium heat for about 4-5 mins or until heated throughout. Add chocolate, extract, zest and salt. Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Take off heat and stir in nuts and fruit.
- Evenly spread into pan and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours. Once chilled lift sides of foil out of pan and cut fudge into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for more Holiday inspirations.
For other family favorite Holiday treats check out these recipes:
Green Apple Butterscotch Macadamia Nut Cookies
Joanne says
This is such an incredible fudge. Love the cranberry and pistachio pops of color too!
Heather says
????????????
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
My husband is the same way with fudge! Lol
Heather says
That’s too funny!????
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
This is really a great idea! Such an awesome treat!
Heather says
Thank you you Toni! it’s kind of dangerous at our house because we can’t stop eating it.
Stephanie Manley says
This is so pretty! It’s perfect for gift giving.
Line says
Thanks a lot for sharing! I’m definitely making these this year again: last year, all those who ate some either said “get these (far) away from me” or “well, these are f****** good! you should make some more” (sorry for the language, but it was… meaningful!).
This time, I’m hoping to save a few for my Advent calendar : following your advice, I’ll store them in the fridge & the calendar boxes will contain small coupons giving me the right to fetch just ONE(you bet…) from the fridge.
Heather says
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this!!! So many of my recipes either people ADORE or hate. It compleltey fills me with joy when I find the ones who love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to make the recipe and then coming back to tell me. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season!!
Becky says
I am new to cooking and could use some help please.
Where can I buy the orange oil and would “Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar, 4 oz” be the kind of bar you are talking about that has more cocoa in it? Thank you for your help
Kindest Regards
Becky
Heather says
Hi Becky,
These are really helpful questions and I am so glad you are asking because I know this will help others too.
1) I purchased the orange oil from Hobby Lobby but I know you can order that brand from Amazon also (there is a link right above the picture that takes you directly to the oil).
2) Yes, Ghiradelli White Chocolate Baking Bar is perfect for this fudge. Honestly, the bar is more expensive than buying the chips but the fudge it creates is far superior.
3) Please do hesitate to ask any additional questions. It truly makes me happy!
Have a wonderful time making fudge!
Sandra says
I have a question for Heather. But will help you too. You say she can buy the cooking bar. It’s much better than the chips. when your referring to the chips, are you referring to chocolate melts? As chocolate chips don’t work for fudge. Also telling her that going to a dollar store or other store and buying chocolate bars is a much cheaper way to go.
Heather says
Hi Sandra. I was referring to white chocolate chips sold on the baking isle at most grocery stores. I have not made this fudge with white chocolate melts. I do know that White chocolate bars have the perfect amount of cocoa butter yielding a much better consistency than white chocolate chips.
Becky says
Thank you so much for your help! I will be making the fudge next week for Thanksgiving. It looks so beautiful!
Becky says
sorry to bother you again but….I cannot find unsalted pistachios, can I use salted?
Heather says
Hi Becky. You are not bothering me at all. I would place the salted pistachios in between a few paper towels and rub gently to try and shake off excess salt. As long as the nuts are not extremely salty it should work out fine. Hopefully this helps.
Becky says
Thank you for your help, I will let you know after Thanksgiving how it turns out, I am so excited to make this. Thank you for sharing,
Becky says
oh my gosh, nobody here in Tulsa has LorAnn natural oils, I have tried Joann fabric, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Whole Foods, Atkins Natural Store. I dont have time to order it from Amazon, any suggestions please. I have my heart set on making this fudge this Thanksgiving.
Heather says
Hi Becky,
Ok, so the good news is I asked my cousin who lives in your area and she says the store All Things Cake has it. Just in case they ran out or are no longer carrying it, just go ahead and use a regular orange extract. I love LorAnn oils but don’t worry if you can’t find it. It will still be delicious.
Becky says
Thank you, they are open tomorrow, so YAY! thank you again
Elena says
Hi, stupid question. Can I use 8×8 dish? The fudge would just be taller probably. Any problems with that?
Heather says
It should be absolutely fine. It may take just a little bit longer to set and the pieces, like you said, will be taller. I hope you enjoy!!
Rhonda says
How do I store this??? I made this tonight for this weekend.
Heather says
Hi Rhonda, I hope you enjoy this fudge this weekend. I have found storing the fudge in the refrigerator in an airtight container to work very well.
Tracy Pruitt says
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving. I got up early to make it fresh, but it did actually only take me 15 minutes! My family loved it and I was, of course, asked for the recipe from an in-law who is going to make them for her work holiday party. She actually refused to take left overs with her though, because she isn’t working until Monday. She didn’t trust herself not to eat it all by then!
Heather says
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the fudge. This fudge always disappears so fast at our house. Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try and for coming back to rate it!
Sherri says
This may be a stupid question but do you think these would hold up if mailed to someone?
Heather says
Hi Sherri. This is actually a really good question. Yes, during the winter months I believe this fudge will hold up well being shipped. However, during the summer or warmer months I would proceed with caution.
Also just as a note, this fudge is best when made with the white chocolate bars rather than the chips. White chocolate bars are a bit more fragile, making it even more challenging trying to ship in warmer months.
Long story short, I hope you enjoy!!!
Collins Reingardt says
So – are these supposed to be much harder than regular chocolate fudge? I made this and the old fashioned chocolate fudge last night and refrigerated both overnight to firm them up, and the chocolate turned out perfectly, but this one is much harder, almost the consistency of a chocolate bar. I used Lindt white chocolate bars because I couldn’t find baking bars at our store. Do you think it is just b/c they were refrigerated overnight?
Heather says
Hi Collins. Yes, this white chocolate fudge definitely has a different consistency than the Dad’s Old Fashioned Fudge. I would recommend letting this white chocolate fudge sit at room temperature before serving.
Also, I am so happy to hear that the chocolate fudge turned out perfectly. That one is the more temperamental candy to make so it sounds like you did it perfect.
Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy the fudge!