Celebrate National Peanut Butter Lover's Month With School Fudge

I took Home Economics at Lassiter Middle School in the seventh grade and loved every minute of it. Even when we were making Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast! It was a new school in the county and it had all the amenities in the 1970s: air conditioning, carpeting, a few left-handed desks, and tones instead of bells! And state-of-the-art kitchens.

My favorite recipe from that class was School Fudge (what everybody else calls No Bake Cookies). We always knew it as School Fudge, though, because it was served nearly every Friday in the cafeteria with lunch. It came in great, chocolate squares and featured the ever-popular taste sensation: peanut butter and chocolate. It was made in an industrial-size sheet pan. Sometimes the fudge was glistening and squidgy; other times it was stiff and dry. We didn't really mind either way — it was always delicious.  

Over the years, I wore that recipe out. Lisa, my best friend, Stacey Simms, and i would make it every chance we got. The ingredients are in nearly everyone's cupboard and it takes less than 20 minutes to knock out a batch of 3 dozen yummy treats. If you make it that far — we rarely did! The taste and smell are so irresistible and tempting that we could hardly wait. Sometimes we would burn our fingers, digging out a sneaky sample. Other times, we'd pop the pan into the freezer to speed up the process. (That doesn't work, by the way. It cools but it doesn't set.)

After many years of making School Fudge, I have learned that it's best made as drop cookies because it's ready faster! Instead of spreading it in a pan, I drop it by the tablespoonful onto waxed paper. More surface area equals less cooling time. In fact, this should be done a bit quickly before it sets in the pan. 

 I've found that the English don't eat as much peanut butter as Americans. The average American child will eat 1,500 PB sandwiches before graduation. I have always loved it and went through a period when I took peanut butter sandwiches to school every day for lunch. So I've made a batch of School Fudge to celebrate National Peanut Butter Lover's Day, which kicks off National Peanut Butter Lover's Month today. Please join in the celebration and try a quick batch of no-bake, peanut buttery School Fudge.

School Fudge 

2 c granulated sugar

4 Tbsp cocoa

1 stick butter or margarine (1/2 c)

1 c smooth peanut butter

1 Tbsp vanilla

3 c quick-cook oats

Spread waxed paper or parchment paper, on which to drop the cookies, onto a countertop, table or heat-proof surface. 

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter; stir in sugar. Add milk and bring to a full, rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add peanut butter, cocoa, oatmeal and vanilla, stirring quickly to combine completely.

Drop by spoonful onto paper and let cool — if you can!


I shared this recipe with Foodie Friday at Simple Living and Eating; as well as Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook. You can also find it on Aloha Friday at What Jean Likes and Kitchen Creations. Please click on these links to find loads of super recipes to pin, save and share!