I normally only make these kind of things to take somewhere (otherwise, I eat them all), but after seeing this day mentioned, I got a craving for it, and I had to make some! This one was an unusual batch, that I made up out of a cream cheese fudge brownie recipe, but the nutty part this time was peanuts. I put 4½ oz (the ½ oz was just an extra piece with the rest) unsweetened chocolate in the oven to melt (with just the pilot light), and took 8 oz of cream cheese out of the fridge to soften. 4 c 10x was the sugar used - about a cup beaten with the cream cheese, to start out, then beat in the melted chocolate. 8 oz unsalted peanuts I ground to a paste (couldn't really make a peanut butter, without using more in the Vitamix), with some of the powdered sugar - had some bits of peanuts in it, but not like "chunky" bits. I added 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp fine salt (the kind I use in bread), and added the peanut paste and remaining sugar, and beat a few minutes, and scraped into a 9x9 pan, pressing into the pan firmly. It was oily, so I blotted a bunch of the oil off, with a Bounty. I put it outside to chill (52° on my back porch then, and getting cooler!). Haven't cut them yet, but there are always scraps with these things, and it is good!
The 8 oz cream cheese, beaten smooth with about 2 c of the powdered sugar. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
4 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted, and beat into the cheese, with 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp fine salt. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
8 oz unsalted peanuts, ground to almost a smooth paste, with some of the sugar added, then added to the rest of the sugar, to mix with the cream cheese. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished fudge, a little oily, from the peanuts, as well as all that oil from the cheese and the chocolate. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
I will end up eating most of these, but, like brownies, I'll freeze most of them, wrapped in 2 piece batches. I won't feel so guilty this way. As long as I don't go down and keep getting them all the first couple nights.
