Easy Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

This peanut butter fudge is built from 5 ingredients and leaves out the sweetened condensed milk, marshmallows and powdered sugar that many fudge recipes depend on. Raw honey does all the sweetening, and the mixture sets in the refrigerator rather than being boiled to a candy stage.

The fat can be either unsalted butter or extra virgin coconut oil. Use a creamy peanut butter; with natural peanut butter, make sure the oil is fully stirred back in before measuring. Chilling the jar upside down in the refrigerator beforehand helps keep the oil and the solids blended for longer.

The butter and peanut butter can be melted in the microwave or over a double boiler. With either method, the vanilla, salt and honey are stirred in once the fats are melted, and the fudge is spread into a parchment-lined 8×8 pan and chilled for about 4 hours before being cut into 64 small squares.

Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge

A simple refrigerator fudge of butter or coconut oil, creamy peanut butter, raw honey, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt, set in an 8×8 pan and cut into 64 one-inch squares.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Chilling time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 64 pieces

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 8 ounces (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter or organic extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 cup creamy organic peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raw honey
• a pinch of sea salt optional

Method

 

Prepare the pan

1. Cut two sheets of parchment or wax paper, each long enough to line an 8×8 pan and hang over the sides. The overhang is folded over the fudge while it chills and later serves as handles for lifting the fudge out.
2. Butter the sheets and lay them in the pan.

Microwave method

1. Put the peanut butter and the butter into a bowl that can go in the microwave, then cover it with plastic wrap.
2. Microwave on high for 2 minutes and stir. Microwave for up to 2 minutes more, in 30-second bursts with a stir after each, until the butter has melted completely and the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the vanilla extract, the pinch of sea salt and the raw honey and stir until the honey is fully blended in.
4. Spread the fudge evenly in the prepared pan.

Double boiler method

1. Use a double boiler, or a metal bowl that sits snugly in a pot with its base held clear of the few inches of water below. Place the peanut butter and butter in the bowl and set it aside.
2. Add water to a small pot to a depth of a couple of inches, bring it to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a simmer.
3. Set the bowl over the simmering water and stir now and then until the butter and peanut butter have melted, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla extract, the pinch of sea salt and the raw honey and mix well to combine, without melting the honey.
5. Take the bowl off the pot and smooth the fudge into the prepared pan in an even layer.

Chill and cut

1. Fold the overhanging parchment over the top of the fudge to cover it.
2. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours, until the fudge has set firm.
3. Open the parchment, grip the two sheets and use them to pull the slab of fudge from the pan.
4. Cut into 1-inch squares (about 64 pieces). Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container.

Notes

Equipment: an 8×8 pan, parchment paper (or wax paper) and some extra butter for greasing the paper.

Make the fudge with either the microwave method or the double boiler method; both use the same ingredients.

If the oil in the peanut butter has separated, stir it back in completely before measuring. Chilling the jar lid side down before use helps keep it blended.

Kept airtight in the refrigerator, the fudge lasts for about a week, or up to 2 months in the freezer. It softens quickly at room temperature, so serve it chilled.

Because it contains raw honey, do not give this fudge to babies under 1 year old.