It’s The Great Pumpkin (Fudge), Charlie Brown!
If it’s 92 degrees and you buy a jar of pumpkin puree, will the weather get cooler? No, but I won’t let that stop me from trying to force summer out the door 
Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving Eve have always been “Pie Days.” A large family gathering means baking lots and lots of pies. Our standard Thanksgiving pie needs alone go something like this: 10 chocolate pies (I swear), 3 pecan pies, and 2 pumpkin pies. There were one or two other “experimental” flavors thrown in occasionally: chocolate chess, cherry, mince meat (where has this stuff been all my life?!), buttermilk, sweet potato… You get the picture.
I’ve always associated pumpkin with Thanksgiving - and only in the form of pie for dessert. So it wasn’t a surprise that I started thinking about Turkey & Cranberry sandwiches as I stirred my lil’ arm off making Pumpkin Pie Fudge, trying my darnedest to will that candy thermometer up just 5 more degrees.
The texture of the pumpkin fudge was nice and smooth - I’ve sent a batch or two of homemade chocolate fudge to a goopy, grainy death in my day. The flavor is dangerous. It’s not overwhelmingly pumpkin, nor is it overwhelmingly white chocolate. Each square is like taking a bite of mellow pumpkin pie. I don’t know that I’d change a thing next time but boy, are they sweet. I’m just hoping I can find a pumpkin fan or two to help me polish off the pan!
Pumpkin Pie Fudge, adapted from Southern Living
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp corn syrup
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
9 oz white chocolate, chopped
7 oz jar marshmallow crème
1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234 (soft-ball stage).
Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended (stirring this is a work-out!). Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 8-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.
Originally uploaded by Confections of a Foodie Bride.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:49 am
That sounds amazing - I would definitely help you finish off the pan!
September 28th, 2007 at 8:24 am
I am a pumpkin fan, and I will gladly help you finish off the pan. In fact, I will be so kind as to take the whole pan off your hands…
September 28th, 2007 at 8:28 am
I have never seen pumpkin fudge before! I am a huge pumpkin fan - this sounds soooo good!
September 28th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I can’t WAIT to make this. Thanks you so much for posting!
September 28th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Oh…my…gawd. I have to make this. Seriously, my list of pumpkin recipes I need to try is getting so long but I can’t stop!!
September 28th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I will GLADLY take some. Do you need my address?
September 29th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Pumpkin fudge! never heard of that one before. If I had a sweet tooth, I’d definitely want to try these.
September 30th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Send some my way and I’ll help you eat it. Looks great!
October 7th, 2007 at 10:44 am
This looks delicious! I read “about you” and was happy to know you are a fellow Texan. I’m from Dallas but am living in England for a few years.
October 14th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Yum! Adding this to my fudge recipes…:)
October 15th, 2007 at 9:41 am
[...] Since Pumpkin Pie Fudge did nothing to get Mother Nature’s attention or sympathy, I’ll try again. I know we don’t really get fall in southeast Texas, but seriously - is a slightly-cooler-than-hot “cold” front too much to ask? I don’t think so. [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I can’t beleive I missed this. I was just coming up with my own pumpkin fudge recipe! You beat me to it.
November 10th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Okay, I tried this and it never really ‘fudged’… perhaps I did something wrong with the cooking stage, but this ended up just gloppy.
It *tasted* great though, and everyone loved eating it out of little paper muffin liners. It was also suggested that I use the leftover as a frosting, which I believe I’ll try on a spice cake.
November 11th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Hi Ruhama. The recipe should have been quite fudgey - hard enough to be able to cut into squares. The only thing I can think of is perhaps it didn’t cook hot or long enough to reach soft-ball stage. But using it as a frosting sounds like a pleasant trade-off
December 30th, 2007 at 12:12 am
[...] Pumpkin Pie Fudge Parmesan Cheese Bread Classic Brownies Tipsy Chocolate-Covered Cherries [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Shoot. I see you already have lots of volunteers to help you finish the pan of fudge! It looks so good–pumpkin fudge is one of my favorites!
March 19th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Oh my!!! I NEED to try these!
October 25th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Thank You!!! I’ve always wanted a pumpkin fudge recipe since tasting it at fudge shoppes. Wish me luck.
October 26th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I think what I’d do, to counter the sweetness a bit, is leave the walnuts out of the fudge, and then press one or two salted, roasted pumpkin seeds into the top of each square of fudge, or maybe just sprinkle them over the whole pan while it was setting.
October 26th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
What a wonderful idea to do with my extra pumpkin puree! I’ve never heard of this and I’m interested - thank you so much for sharing this.