our christmas was calm, merry and bright. filled with new recipes, old traditions, cocoa and candy canes, palm trees (our relatives in colorado enjoyed a white christmas!) and the best family away from family we could have ever hoped for. we're so grateful for the blessings 2015 has brought: our friends, health, happiness and lots and lots of sweet treats.

we hope you and yours had an amazing day filled with that special kind of magic only christmas can bring.

photo credit: sean ellington - westminster, colorado.

^ some of the fam were here. some were in florida, and meanwhile, in south texas...

the typical tower of treats: this year's version was filled with christmas cookies, rum balls, bailey's pistachio white chocolate fudge, regular fudge, peppermint bark and eggnog cupcakes.

merry christmas to all!

below is my favorite recipe for classic chocolate fudge - a necessary staple on my holiday cookie plate! i'm not sure if it's the combination of the different types of chocolate, or the marshmallow fluff, but this fudge always turns out perfectly rich and smooth, never grainy or bitter. this year we topped ours off with some candy cane and snowflake sprinkles for added texture and visual appeal, but it's just as fantastic plain.

| ingredients |

1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
1 (12 ounce) package dark chocolate chips
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 jar (7-8 ounces) marshmallow fluff
4 1/4 cups sugar
1 (12 ounces) can evaporated milk
optional mix ins: nuts, cranberries, etc. and sprinkles or crushed peppermint to garnish.

| method |

line a 9 x 13" baking dish with foil or parchment paper, set aside.

in a large microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter then add in milk, dark and semi chocolate chips and marshmallow whip. set aside.

in a large saucepan, combine sugar and evaporated milk. bring to a rolling boil over medium heat and stir constantly for 4 minutes.

slowly pour the boiled sugar and milk over the chocolate in mixing bowl in 4 batches, stirring constantly until smooth. at this point if you'd like to add in cranberries, nuts, or any other mix ins, gently fold them into your fudge batter. it will begin to harden pretty quickly.

pour the fudge into your prepared baking dish, cover tightly and refrigerate until hardened (several hours, best when chilled overnight). keep refrigerated until ready to serve.