Make The Easiest Vanilla Fudge Of Your Life With 2 Simple Ingredients

If you've listened to a lot of oldies radio, the words "vanilla fudge" may bring to mind a band once known for turning pop songs into heavy psychedelic sludge fests. Now, that's something you could never recreate with just two ingredients (for one thing, the band Vanilla Fudge has four members), but vanilla fudge the food can be far easier to make than that. Some vanilla fudge recipes may require messing around with a candy thermometer or result in a lumpy, yellowish confection. But this low-effort, no-boil, no-bake dessert recipe will give you candy as smooth and white as canned vanilla frosting. No surprise, since this is one of the main ingredients.

To make the fudge, take a 16-ounce can of frosting and melt it in the microwave along with a 16-ounce bag of white chocolate confectionery coating chips. (Note: These are the kind without cocoa butter.) If you're using broken-up white chocolate bars, you'll need 19 ounces, which would be roughly 3 cups plus 6 tablespoons of chips (or chunks). If you're able to fiddle with your microwave's power level, set it to 75% and melt the chocolate for 90 seconds, then stir until all the remaining chocolate bits have melted. Should you prefer to keep it on the default setting, cook in 30-second bursts to be on the safe side. Once you've achieved a homogeneous blend, pour the fudge into a wax paper-lined pan (greased parchment or foil will also work) and refrigerate it for two hours to set.

The beauty of this fudge lies in its sheer simplicity since essentially all you are doing is melting and chilling (just like on any given summer weekend). Still, there's a lot you can do to switch things up without breaking a sweat. For starters, you could turn this into chocolate fudge by switching up the frosting and chip flavors. You could also keep the vanilla chips but use a different flavor of frosting such as lemon, strawberry, or cherry to add both flavor and color. (Stick with store-bought frosting of the Betty Crocker-Duncan Hines-Pillsbury variety instead of homemade, though, so as not to throw off the delicate alchemy of this microwave recipe.) 

The very best way to elevate this basic vanilla fudge might be with mix-ins. You could start with extra chocolate chips (if you have any leftovers) and stir them in once the fudge has cooled just a bit so they don't melt into the mix. If you're making Christmas fudge, you could add crushed mints for holiday flavor, while colored sprinkles would be fun at any time of year. It might be best to wait a few minutes to stir in both of these additions, as well, since the heat could make their colors run. Chopped nuts, dried fruits, and broken cookies, however, can be stirred in while the fudge is still hot.