My addiction to Google Reader has really started to pay off. Last year I won a box of Häagen-Dazs reserve ice cream from Serious Eats. Then, last week I submitted a caption for the weekly “Insert Caption” contest over at Cinematical and picked up a special 10th Anniversary addition of one of my favorite movies, “You’ve Got Mail.” When I grow up I still want to be Meg Ryan’s character in that film. And my latest lucky score was to be first in line to try a jar of Blake Killian’s versatile and delicious Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche.

As soon as I tasted my first tentative spoonful I knew I was in trouble. This creamy sticky concoction could not be allowed to stay in my house! My thighs were not safe in its presence. Then I got an idea…(please excuse me while I channel Dr. Suess and The Grinch)…an awful idea. Erin got a wonderful, awful idea. What if I made a batch of peanut butter fudge, but not just any fudge. This fudge tastes exactly like the inside of a Peanut Butter Buckeye (or Bon Bon — whatever you call them). Then, what if I heated Blake’s Dulce de Leche and spread it over the top of the fudge? I just couldn’t pass up this unique opportunity. It was of course promptly packed up, and quickly gobbled up by the people in my office. Thanks Blake!

Peanut Butter Fudge (Originally published on PeanutButter.com)

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz.) Creamy Peanut Butter
1-1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 jar of Blake Killian’s Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche

Spray 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In 2-quart saucepan, melt Spread with corn syrup over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add Peanut Butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat. With wooden spoon, stir in confectioners sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread in prepared pan. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. To serve, cut into 1-inch squares.

Just a moment ago I was looking up the recipe for Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Pistachio Fudge online and I came across the actual clip of her making it on YouTube. So I sat through it thoroughly enjoying Nigella in all her glory of shiny black curls and smoldering looks when it dawned on me that I’d never added any butter to my mixture when I made it for the party. Had I been so distracted by Texas Spice’s presence in the kitchen that I’d left out an ingredient? Then I checked the Food Network website and discovered that it didn’t mention butter at all in the recipe. I should have used the BBC website. At least they got it right.

My fudge came out just as sickeningly sweet as you can imagine a gigantic pot of melted chocolate and condensed milk would be, even without the small addition of butter, but it totally annoys me that it was left out. That seems to happen quite frequently actually. What you see on the cooking shows isn’t always duplicated in the recipes they provide to the public. Smarten up copy editors! Anyway, one piece of this decadent fudge will completely wreck you and probably make your dentist shutter in horror, but it will be worth it. After all, Christmas comes but once a year and obviously this gives us free reign to be complete and utter gluttons. Note: The images below are a doubled version of the recipe which I poured into a 9” by 13” pan. I also used half dark, and half milk chocolate.

A Lot of Chopped Chocolate	Serious Nutcracking
Melt	Pour, Smooth, & Chill
Give Them a Toothache

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (Originally published by Nigella Lawson)

12 ounces 70 percent dark chocolate, chopped or 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch salt
1 cup shelled pistachios

Melt the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter, and salt in a heavy based pan on a low heat.
Put the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into both big and little pieces.
Add the nuts to the melted chocolate and condensed milk and stir well to mix.
Pour this mixture into a 9-inch square foil tray, smoothing the top.

Let the fudge cool and then refrigerate until set. You can then cut into small pieces approximately 3/4 by 1 3/4 inches or cutting 8 by 8 lines in the tin to give 64 pieces.

Once cut you can keep it in the freezer, no need to thaw just eat straight away.