Easy Swirled Fudge

I did a little more Christmas baking this week.  I so wish my mother were alive because then I could ask her how she made fudge.  She made the "Fantasy Fudge" from the jar of marshmallow cream.  At some point, the size of the jar of marshmallow cream and the recipe got changed.  There is a recipe posted all over the internet (or so it seems) claiming to be the identical original recipe.  I can tell you, however, that it is not.  I know this for two reasons:  First, it doesn't taste like it, and second, it isn't made the same way.  I was bitterly disappointed when I tried it recently and the chocolate seized.  The recipe doesn't use a candy thermometer, and so it isn't made in the same way my mother did it.  I used to make fudge from her recipe, and so I know how she did it.  I just don't know exactly what she put in it.  This impostor fudge tasted okay, but it wasn't my mother's fudge.  It was also very brittle and crumbly.  I've looked all over for her recipe, and I can't find it.

With that in mind, I've been "interviewing" different fudge recipes.  Tuesday I tried one that, while it still isn't my mother's fudge, it wasn't bad.  It was quick and easy--made in the microwave, if you can believe that.  It only makes a small amount, which can be either good or bad depending on your point of view.  I got the recipe from http://www.myrecipes.com, which is a pretty good source when you're looking for something in particular.  I have several more fudge recipes to try, but for now, I can recommend their Easy Swirl Fudge if you want something quick and easy for a gift.

A note about the recipe:  I have no idea what the wattage of my microwave is, although the recipe has a note about this.  It is a newer microwave, however, and so I'm assuming it has a high wattage.  In any case, it worked fine for what the recipe asks me to do.  I might have left the white chocolate standing a little longer to let it thicken because it was difficult to "swirl" into the dark chocolate.  I ended up with a rather amorphous light brown color rather than a swirl.  It still looked and tasted good enough to give as a gift.  Mike liked it too, and as a fudge aficionado, he's a tough customer.  (I used to make my mother's recipe for him when we were dating--back during the 14th Century.)  The only other thing I'll say about this recipe is that it took a good eight hours to set up completely.  I checked it at four hours, as the recipe suggests, but it was still pretty soft.