Alton Brown's Peanut Butter Fudge in the Microwave Trick

I have never been great at making fudge. While writing the Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook I struggled with our recipe for peanut butter fudge. The recipe I developed is prepared on the stovetop and requires a candy thermometer and very precise timing. It tastes great but it's not easy.

I was recently introduced to Alton Brown's recipe for microwave peanut butter fudge. I was skeptical. Fudge is tricky, and microwaves don't really allow for precise temperature control. And microwaves vary in wattage. This seemed like a kitchen disaster waiting to happen.

Despite my initial wariness, I gave it a try, substituting crunchy peanut butter for smooth to give it a little texture, and adding a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips at the end to create a little swirl. With the leftover chips, I pressed them into the fudge for some added chocolate fun.

I was surprised at how well it came together. Was it perfect? No. But I don't think I've ever had homemade fudge that was without a dry or grainy patch here or there. It was pretty smooth and didn't get crumbly the way I feared it would. All in all, it was a pretty good result for such a simple recipe.

Have you ever made fudge in a microwave? How did it come out? Do you ever add peanuts, walnuts, or some other nut to your homemade fudge?

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