Penuche Fudge

This is another recipe I made in my baking frenzy in December.  I got the recipe for this fudge off of Allrecipes.  The recipe was a bit confusing... since it didn't specify the size of the dish you dumped it in... It sounded a little like they were expecting you to use a ribbed cookie sheet.  So I decided to use the smallest cookie sheet I had.  Turns out I should have just used an 8x8" glass pan.  Next time...

As the recipe directed I buttered the cookie sheet & the sauce pan.  I dumped all the ingredients (except the vanilla and nuts) in the sauce pan. 

I cooked the mix over medium heat until it came to a boil. 

Once it was boiling I stopped stirring and just watched the temperature.  I have a great candy thermometer that alarmed when I reached soft ball stage. 

Once it was at temp I moved it off the heat and let it sit - it's still boiling like crazy... That's a lot of heat!

I kept checking the temperature to see when it came down to 110.  I think that was a mistake.  It didn't turn to sugar... but the fudge that cooled on the thermometer did cause little bits of sugar... so when it was finally done it was smooth with some crystals.  I'm going to have to try it again and just go by the temp of the pan (touch) next time. 

Once it was at 110 I added in the vanilla and mixed until it lost its gloss.   

Not that it ever lost its gloss...  I just finally gave up and dumped in the pecans. 

All in all I let it get too cold.  It was basically set up by the time I dumped it on the baking dish. 

I spent a while trying to mash it into a flat peice but as you can see an 8x8 pan would have been much better. 

All in all it's a pretty straight forward recipe but I would have been better off if I had followed my instincts instead of following the recipe so literally.  I love fudge so I'll be trying this again... at some point.