Here is a fudge recipe I made a long time ago, that is, if you call 1981 a long time ago. Fudge recipes have evolved over the years. They are easier to make now. Just cook up some sugar and evaporated milk. Add chocolate and marshmallow cream and you have fudge. But it is not the same as the old fashioned variety. Oldsters will agree with me. (I will share one of those recipes at a later date.).

Last year, a Christian sister at church asked if I had any old fashioned fudge recipes. Boy, do I!. I gave her several. You know, there was a time when that was it. Back in the day, not every cook could make an acceptable fudge. Maybe her kids liked hers, but that was because it was all they had. You know how it is. Someone shared a favorite family comfort food and it turns out to be like my mother-in-law's pancakes with milk gravy. “Gosh-darn-awful!”

What better way to illustrate a Valentine Day's treat than with an old timey post card my dad received over a century ago, but the fudge is newer. It's an early easy fudge that doesn't have to cook to a certain temperature, such as soft ball. I found it in an 1968 cookbook. Your pre-teen daughter could make it. Share the candy. Enjoy the Valentine.

CHERRY CREME FUDGE
4 cups sugar
1 cup half and half
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup marshmallow creme
1/2 cup coarsely chopped maraschino cherries
1 cup pecan halves, optional

Combine sugar, half and half, butter, corn syrup and salt in heavy 4 quart saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Set pan in cold water and cool to lukewarm. Add vanilla and marshmallow crème. Beat until mixture is at the setting stage. Pour into well-buttered 8 or 9 inch square pan. Decorate with pecan halves. Cut into squares when firm. Makes 24 pieces.