As a busy college kid, I never have the time or resources to bake. As someone who used to make cookies or something almost every week, this upsets me to no end. This recipe, however, is easy enough for even the busiest student to make, a dessert that only requires two ingredients and five minutes of your time (plus cooling) and can be as simple or as fancy as you choose! If this recipe seems a little too easy, check out my suggestions for ways to improve upon the recipe at the end of the article (hint, hint, Nutella is involved), or try your own combinations!
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: None!
Total Time: 2 minutes, plus wait time for fudge to set
Servings: about 20 squares (depending on pan size and desired fudge thickness)
Ingredients:
Photo by Sarah Lossing
1 (16 oz) jar creamy peanut butter
1 (16 oz) can vanilla frosting
Optional Ingredients:
Chocolate chips or chocolate sauce (I prefer semisweet, but use whatever your heart desires)
Pretzels
Nutella
Directions:
1. Empty jar of peanut butter into a large mixing bowl. Don’t worry if you can’t get every last spoonful.
2. Place uncovered, UNWRAPPED can of frosting in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring every 20 seconds.
Photo by Sarah Lossing
3. Combine the two ingredients. Mix until fully combined.
Photo by Sarah Lossing
4. Transfer to pan (I used an 8-in round pan, but whatever you have on hand will work).
Photo by Sarah Lossing
5. Let cool until set. Cut into squares.
Photo by Sarah Lossing
If you want to add a little complexity into this incredibly simple recipe, here are a few suggestions:
- Buy chocolate sauce or melt about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave. Either drizzle on top to form a decorative chocolate swirl or dump the whole mixture on top of the cooled fudge. Let it completely set before cutting into squares.
- Using a plastic Ziploc bag, crush a few handfuls of pretzels into bite-size pieces. Incorporate into the peanut-butter/frosting mixture before transferring the fudge to your pan. Adds a nice extra crunch and saltiness to the rich fudge.
- Substitute Nutella for peanut butter. Enough said.