Chocolate Orange Fudge Recipe with Pecans - a modern take on Fantasy Fudge (2024)

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Holiday sweets are one of the best joys of the season, right? From cookies to handmade candies,everyone has their favorite. In our family, one of the big favorites is fudge. My grandma passed down her fudge recipe to my mom, and then she passed it down to me. And since nearly 20 years ago when I took over the holiday baking tradition, fudge has beenthe number one requested holiday treat from friends and family alike. Over the years I have added new recipes and made variations of favorites. This year, I decided to create an homage to the nostalgic Christmas chocolate orange by making a Chocolate Orange Fudge Recipe with Pecans, a variation on the classic Fantasy Fudge recipe.

My grandma on my dad's side, the Mexican side of the family, loved fresh oranges. She always had a bowl of oranges on her table: well, every Mexican family did back then. Growing up, our family was based in the Inland Empire area of Southern California, their homes all surrounded by orange groves and grape vineyards. You could buy a bag of oranges on any street corner; as a kid, I honestly thought that was just a normal thing that happened everywhere! The vineyards and the orchards are now gone, bulldozed to put in new homes, but the memories are still there.

One of the things I remember most about our holiday baking season is standing over the stove stirring melted butter, sugar, and NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk until it felt like my arm would fall off. The reward was oh-so-good: yummy delicious fudge with walnuts! As an adult, I realized that what felt like “forever” as a kid was about 15 minutes in actuality.

Around the holidays, we received chocolate oranges from each of the grandparents; these were chocolates with an orange essence, poured into the shape of an orange with wedges. They were always so delicious! So why not use similar flavors in fudge?

My husband and I updated my grandma's fudge recipe by substituting orange extract for a portion of the vanilla extract used in the traditional recipe, adding just a hint or orange flavor.We also added fresh grated orange zest in the fudge itself. To compliment the orange flavor, we substituted chopped pecans for the walnuts in the fudge, as a nod to my husband's southern roots. We then added a sprinkle of sea salt to the top to balance the flavors. This Chocolate Orange Pecan Fudge recipe is a modern take on the traditional fudge my grandma had been making since the sixties!

Chocolate Orange Fudge with Pecans Recipe

Place sugar, butter, and NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk in a 3-quart heavy saucepan.

Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Boil until candy thermometer reaches 234ºF, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. I like to wait just until little brown specks appear in the mixture. Remove from heat.

Add NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels and marshmallow; stir until melted.

Add pecans, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest; mix well.

Pour immediately into a buttered oblong glass pan ; spread to evenly cover bottom of pan. Cool at room temperature for at least 4 hours ; cut into 1-inch squares.

Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh orange zest for a pretty presentation.

Watch this video to see how to make the fudge from start to finish:

Another family tradition is using NESTLÉ® products in the kitchen, as you might have noticed in the recipe above. From NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels to NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, our holiday baking was always based on quality ingredients from brands we trust.

From NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Holiday Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Brownies & More, and NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Holiday Morsels for quick and easy sweets to the NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels and NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk used to make our favorite fudge, there's a reason to use NESTLÉ® ingredients in every holiday meal. For our fudge recipe, NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk is our top choice because it produces a rich, creamy fudge with a smooth texture. And NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels at the chocolate flavor my family expects during the holidays, giving us the best tasting fudge on the block!

If you need a quick sweet for a potluck or holiday party, try the new NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Brownies & More mixes, with no artificial flavors or colors.

Have you added Latin flavors to traditionally American holiday recipes, like we did with this Chocolate Orange Fudge with Pecans recipe? No matter what you love to cook and bake during the holidays, choose NESTLÉ® brand ingredients from your local Walmart.

We always get the best results, every time, that's why we go straight to NESTLÉ® products in the baking aisle at Walmart. Find more holiday recipe inspiration on the Nestlé Flavorful Moments Pinterest Board.

Want to make this Chocolate Orange Fudge recipe?

Click the block below for a printable version of this Chocolate Orange Fudge recipe:

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What are your favorite holiday recipes? Tell me about them in the comments and feel free to leave a link!