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National Nutty Fudge Day – May 12 – Time to Tempt Your Sweet Tooth

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It’s time to give your sweet tooth a workout. May 12 is National Nutty Fudge Day.

This popular sweet treat has an interesting history. Many early stories about fudge show that it came about by accident when cooks were trying to make other types of candy.

Confused about national days and how they came to be? My national days guide gives lots of information about these special days of the year. National Nutty Fudge Day is celebrated on May 12 every year. Get some fun fudge facts and tasty recipes to celebrate.

For ideas and recipes for the national food days in May, check out this post. For another national sweet treat day, make sure to check out National Licorice Day on April 12.

Who invented fudge?

The exact origin of fudge is disputed, but Emily Battersby, class of 1892 at Vassar College wrote a letter talking about her classmate making fudge. Hartridge actually used the recipe to make 30 pounds of the fudge for the senior auction.

Fun facts about fudge

Fudge is a really popular sweet treat. Here are some facts about the confection that you might not know.Fudge with nuts and marshmallows

  • Americans normally make fudge with chocolate and Europeans often use butter, sugar and cream in the ingredients.
  • Fudge is a Western confection idea.
  • Tourist shops often sell fudge made from ingredients in the region to visitors.
  • Pecans and walnuts are most often used in nutty fudge recipes.
  • Cole Porter was a fudge lover. He had 9 pounds of it shopped to him each month. Now that’s a fudge addiction!
  • In 1886 Fudge sold in Baltimore for 40c a pound.
  • The largest slab of fudge weighed 5760 pounds. It was made in Ontario Canada by the Northwest Fudge Factory.

What is fudge made of?

Everyone loves this sweet treat and many pounds of it are made every year, but how is fudge actually made?  To get this creamy confection with just the right texture, combine sugar, butter and milk and heat it to the soft ball stage (240 º F) and then beat the mixture as it cools.National Nutty Fudge Day is celebrated on May 12

This will give it a smooth but still creamy texture. Nuts are often added to give the creaminess a boost of crunchy flavor, too.

Be sure to also check out my tips for making perfect fudge every time. It’s much easier than you think.

How to celebrate National Nutty Fudge Day

  • Host a fudge exchange. Everyone brings a batch of their favorite fudge along with the recipe and guests leave with some of each and the recipe to try on their own.
  • Take a trip to the Farmer’s Market to Pick up a few varieties of fudge with nuts.  Have a vote with your family to see which the favorite is.
  • Make a batch of nutty fudge to share with friends. Try out one of the recipes below.
  • Share the word on social media using the hashtags #NationalNuttyFudgeDay #nuttyfudgeday and #NationalFoodDays.

Here is a tweet to get you started:

May 12 is #NationalNuttyFudgeDay. Get out the sugar and your baking pan and make one of these fudge recipes to share.🥜🍜🍫 Share on X

Nutty fudge recipes

While walnuts and pecans are most commonly used when making nutty fudge, other nuts work too. Here are 10 of my favorite recipes to try. One might be perfect for Mother’s Day!

This collection of nutty fudge recipes will tempt your sweet tooth for sure.

How many calories in fudge?

The answer to this question depends on the type of fudge, or course, but an average piece of home made nut fudge has about 100 calories with 13 grams of sugar and 16 grams of fat.

Fudge days of the year

There are several days of the year devoted to fudge – and oddly enough none of them happen in December when so many people eat fudge.

  • National Nutty Fudge Day – May 12
  • National Fudge Day – June 16
  • National Penuche Fudge Day – July 22
  • National Peanut Butter Fudge Day – November 20

There are over 1500 national days of the year and many of them are devoted to food. Don’t miss any of them.  Check often to see which day we are featuring on Always the Holidays.

If you enjoy doing puzzles, be sure to check out this free May word search printable  for some food national day puzzle fun.

For other May national days check out these posts:

Pin these nutty fudge recipes for later

Would you like a reminder of these decadent fudge recipes? Just pin this image to one of your dessert boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

You can also watch our YouTube video to learn about more national food days in May.

Try one of these decadent nutty fudge recipes

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission from the sale, but the price is the same for you. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."