Easy Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge

This Cranberry Pecan Christmas Fudge has beautiful layers of white chocolate and dark chocolate fudge  filled with tart cranberries, crunchy pecans, and a hint of cinnamon. It looks fancy enough to give as a homemade Christmas gift, but it's surprisingly simple to make in under 10 minutes.

🎄Christmas Fudge: At a Glance

• Simple ingredients. Semi-sweet chocolate chips, cinnamon chips (or see notes for an easy substitute), white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter, pecans, dried cranberries, vanilla, salt. 
• Easy microwave fudge. About 10 minutes hands-on, plus 1-2 hours to chill. No candy thermometer, no double boiler.
• Smooth, creamy, and impressive-looking. Beautiful contrasting layers of white and dark chocolate studded with pecans and cranberries. Condensed milk keeps it creamy, no marshmallow creme needed.
• Big batch. One 8 or 9 inch square pan makes 36 squares.
• Freezer friendly. Make ahead and freeze for 2-3 months.

I set out to make a "Christmas fudge recipe" using my grandma's old-fashioned version, but after countless attempts, it kept turning out grainy, hard, and just plain terrible. So I gave up on nostalgia and focused on making one with Christmas flavors and pretty layers instead.

And It. Tastes. Like. Christmas. The bottom layer is rich chocolate, cinnamon chips, and pecans, topped with creamy white chocolate and tart dried cranberries. And even though it looks a little fancy, it's ridiculously easy to make.

Set it on your goodie tray alongside Mexican Christmas Cookies, Million Dollar Bars , and Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies.

🍫Cranberry Pecan Fudge Ingredients

This delicious fudge recipe comes together with simple ingredients. See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients. 

• Sweetened condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk makes the fudge smooth and creamy without all the boiling and stirring of traditional fudge recipes.
• Butter. A little bit of butter makes the fudge mixture extra smooth and creamy.
• Salt. Salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. Don't worry, the fudge won't taste salty.
• Vanilla. The vanilla is added only to the chocolate layer so it doesn't darken the white chocolate fudge.
• Cinnamon chips. Cinnamon chips are DELICIOUS! They add warm cinnamon flavor to the chocolate fudge mixture. If you can't find them in the grocery store, you can get cinnamon chps at Amazon or King Arthur-- but they're pricey.
• *An easy substitution for cinnamon chips: increase the semi-sweet chocolate chips to 1½ cups and add 1-2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, to taste. The mixture is very forgiving so if you need to let it cool a little, taste it, and add more cinnamon, you can reheat it again.

🥜Variations

Christmas fudge is an easy recipe to make your own!

• Extracts. Add a splash of your favorite flavor with orange, maple, rum, or almond extract.
• Dried fruit. Swap the dried cranberries for chopped dried cherries, blueberries, or any dried fruit you love.
• Chocolate chips. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chocolate fudge layer, but you can use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. Or skip the layers and use just one kind of chocolate. 
• Nuts. Substitute pecans for your favorite nuts like walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, or pistachios. You can also toast the pecans for even more flavor -- or skip the nuts altogether.

🥣How to Make Christmas Fudge with Condensed Milk

Step 1: Make the chocolate fudge layer. Microwave the semi-sweet chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, butter, salt, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Step 2: Use a butter knife or offset spatula to evenly spread the chocolate pecan fudge layer into the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch square pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.

🔪How to Cut Fudge Cleanly

For the cleanest cuts, remove the fudge from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before cutting. Place the slab of fudge on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut the fudge into 1 to 1 ½ inch wide strips, then cut each strip into small squares. Wipe the blade between cuts.

💡Expert Tips

• For the best flavor and smoothest texture, use good quality chocolate like Ghirardelli.
• To keep the parchment paper from slipping around the pan, brush the pan with butter before laying down the parchment.
• Let the Christmas fudge cool completely before cutting.
• Take the fudge out of the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before cutting. If the fudge is too cold, it can splinter when you cut it.
• For perfectly square pieces, trim off the uneven edges all around the slab of fudge before cutting it into strips.

🧊Storage & Freezing

• Store Christmas fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. For longer storage, place it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. 
• To freeze, wrap it tightly with waxed paper, then foil and place it in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for 2-3 months.

🆘Christmas Fudge Troubleshooting

Fudge acting up? Don't throw it out, or panic! Most fudge mishaps are fixable.

• My fudge won't set. Make sure you used sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk. Evaporated milk won't work here. If you did use the right milk, give it more time in the fridge. Overnight is totally fine.
• My fudge seized up. Seized fudge turns dry and crumbly. It usually happens when the chocolate gets too hot in the microwave, gets stirred too much, or is lower-quality chocolate. As long as it isn't burned, you can probably save it! Stir in warm water or heavy whipping cream, one teaspoon at a time, until the mixture comes back together. If needed, rewarm it briefly in the microwave or over low heat in a saucepan.
• My fudge is grainy. Grainy fudge has most likely been overheated. i've been there! Luckily, it's an easy fix. Gently rewarm the fudge, then stir in warm water or heavy whipping cream, a teaspoon at a time, until it's smooth and glossy again.
• My fudge is oily. Oily fudge is usually the result of over-stirring. Fix it the same way as grainy fudge: gently rewarm it and stir in a little warm water or heavy whipping cream until it's smooth and glossy.
• My fudge cracked when I cut it. It's too cold. Let it sit out for 5-10 minutes before slicing, and wipe the knife between cuts.

❓Recipe FAQs

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