Decorate squares of condensed milk peanut butter fudge to make this adorable Reindeer Fudge for Christmas. Kids of all ages will love this sweet holiday treat.
How cute is this Reindeer Fudge with its chocolate antlers, red M&M noses, and candy eyes?
To make this fun Christmas fudge, you'll start by making easy peanut butter fudge using just four ingredients. Then, you'll add candy decorations.
I used the same easy fudge recipe to make Fudge Peanut Blossoms recently and it is fantastic. If you don't care for peanut butter or have nut allergies, you can make butterscotch, maple, or caramel fudge instead. Any tan-colored fudge will work.
Once you make the fudge and cut it into squares, you'll add the decorations.
You'll need to make chocolate antlers (I'll show you how below) or you can use candy antlers from a Wilton Reindeer Decorating Kit.
Next, you'll add candy eyes and a red candy-coated chocolate nose. It's so easy!
This cute fudge will look so festive on a platter alongside Snowman Fudge, Grinch Fudge, and A Christmas Story Fudge.
Ingredients:
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- peanut butter chips
- sweetened condensed milk
- salt
- creamy peanut butter
- pure dark chocolate or dark cocoa candy melts - If you use pure dark chocolate, you will need to temper it (heat and cool the chocolate to specific temperatures) so that it hardens properly. See my Chocolate Making Tips at HungryHappenings.com page for instructions on melting and tempering chocolate and candy melts.
- Red M&M's - Sixlets would also look cute.
- candy eyes
- clear piping gel (or corn syrup or candy melts) - You'll use any of these items to attach the candy decorations to your fudge.
What are peanut butter chips?
- They are peanut butter-flavored confectionery coating.
- They have a similar texture to a white chocolate chip but have a slightly drier texture.
- You can find Reese's Peanut Butter Chips in the baking aisle at many major grocery or discount stores.
- You can also use peanut butter confectionery coating wafers to make this fudge. Merckens and Wilton make peanut butter wafers. If you use them, I'd suggest chopping them into small pieces (easy in the food processor) so that they melt more quickly.
Peanut Butter
- I personally love the flavor of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter so that is what I use.
- I have not tested this recipe using natural or freshly ground peanut butter and I'm not sure if you will have any issues with the oils separating or not. If you do try it, please let us know how it works out in the comments below.
Can I use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- No!
- Sweetened condensed milk is milk that has been pasteurized and condensed (heated and cooked to remove most of the water) and sweetened with sugar. It is thick and has a light caramel flavor.
- Evaporated milk is not sweetened and is not thickened with sugar and will not work in this fudge recipe.
Supplies
- mixing bowl
- silicone spatula
- square baking pan (8 or 9 inches)
- small zip-top bag
- baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- food-use-only paintbrush or toothpick
You can find the supplies needed to make this Reindeer Fudge on Amazon (commission earned for sales.)
REESE'S Peanut Butter Bakin...Shop on Amazon
Merckens Coatings, Peanut B...Shop on Amazon
Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, 1...Shop on Amazon
Carnation Sweetened Condens...Shop on Amazon
Wilton Cupcake Decorating K...Shop on Amazon
Ghirardelli Candy Making an...Shop on Amazon
Candy Molds N More Edible R...Shop on Amazon
M&M's Red Milk Chocolate Ca...Shop on Amazon
Wilton 704-9987 Clear Pipin...Shop on AmazonSee our Easy Fudge FAQ page for more answers to your fudge-making questions.
Instructions
Microwave Method
- Stir together 2 ½ cups of peanut butter chips, one (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk, ½ cup of creamy peanut butter, and a pinch of salt. If you want a softer fudge you can reduce the chips to 2 ¼ cups.
- Heat in the microwave at 70% power for 90 seconds.
- Let the bowl rest in the microwave for 3 minutes.
- Then remove the bowl and stir slowly until the fudge thickens and all the peanut butter chips have melted. You can press down on any of the chips that are not melting to get them to melt more quickly.
- If needed you can heat the fudge for an additional 10-15 seconds at 70% power. Then stir again.
- This fudge will get quite thick as you stir, so just stir until the chips have melted.
- Spread into an 8-inch square pan that has been lined with non-stick tin foil. This will make removal from the pan really easy.
- Cover and chill for about 3 hours until firm.
- Remove from pan and cut off about ½ inch around the edge of the fudge.
- Cut 16 equal-sized squares from the remaining square of fudge.
NOTE: This recipe was tested in a 1000-watt microwave, you may need to adjust the time if your microwave is less powerful.
Stove Top Method
- Stir together the peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and peanut butter in a medium saucepan and set it over low heat on the stove.
- Heat, stirring occasionally until about ¾'s of the peanut butter chips have melted.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the chips continue to melt without stirring for 3 minutes.
- Then stir until smooth and creamy before spreading into a pan.
Let's decorate the fudge.
- Pour melted candy melts into a small zip-top bag and snip off a tip in one corner of the bag.
- Pipe 1-inch long antlers onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze the antlers for about 3 minutes until hardened.
- Use clear piping gel or corn syrup to attach a red M&M nose in one corner of a square of the peanut butter fudge.
- Use more gel to attach two candy eyes above the red nose.
- Either attach two antlers on top of the fudge coming out from next to the eyes or insert the antlers into the side of the fudge.
Clear piping gel is the best option as it will hold the candy firmly in place but corn syrup will work in a pinch. If you want you could even use candy melts to attach the pieces. You can find piping gel at craft stores in the cake and candy decorating aisles.
Storage
Store this Peanut Butter Reindeer Fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month. A metal tin will keep your fudge fresh the longest. If you use a plastic container, the fudge will keep for 2-3 weeks.
Related Recipes
See more of our festive Christmas fudge recipes...
Video
Recipe
Get a printed copy of our How To Make Easy Fudge cookbook from Amazon or a printable E-book from EJunkie. The full-color fudge cookbook features 60 of our most popular easy fudge recipes.
Squares of peanut butter fudge are decorated to look like adorable reindeer with chocolate antlers, a red M&M nose and candy eyes.
- 2 ½ cups peanut butter chips
- 14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 pinch of salt
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 ounces melted and tempered dark chocolate or melted dark cocoa candy melts
- 16 Red M&M's
- 32 candy eyes
- 1 teaspoon clear piping gel (or corn syrup or candy melts)
Line an 8-inch square pan with non-stick tin foil or parchment paper.
Stir together peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and creamy peanut butter.
Heat in the microwave at 70% power for 90 seconds.
Let the bowl rest in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Stir until melted.
If needed, heat at 70% power for 10-15 second increments in order to melt all the peanut butter chips.
Spread into the prepared pan and press a piece of plastic wrap directly over top, smoothing out the surface of the fudge. Then chill until firm for about 3 hours or so.
Remove from refrigerator and cut off about ½ inch around the outer edge of the fudge then cut the inner square into 16 squares.
Pour the chocolate or candy melts into a small zip-top bag and snip off the tip of the bag.
Pipe 32 (1-inch long) antlers onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Freeze for about 3 minutes just until firm.
Remove and use clear piping gel (or corn syrup or candy melts) to attach one red M&M nose and two candy eyes to each square of fudge.
Either attach two antlers to each reindeer fudge using piping gel or insert the antlers on either side of the fudge.
Store your fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.
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