Lately I have felt a little...overwhelmed. I have been bombarded with emails, working from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm everyday, and have been struggling to put as much time and thought into my relationship as I'd like to.
When one of my sorority sisters asked me to go on an "impromptu" trip to Ocean City, I can't say I was quick to say yes. Not being a very adventurous person {which is something I've always hated}, all I could think about is how two days wasn't nearly enough time to get ready and how much money it was going to cost me. On top of that, I have been crazy stressed and wasn't interested in adding on to that.
I envy people who can make day trips to the beach, but I can't bring myself to do it. However, I thought about how I haven't seen the beach in three years and made the commitment to go {and made even more commitment to the trip by offering to drive}. There was no way to back out.
With the car loaded, iPods fully charged, and a bunch of vitamin water {thanks Paige}, we made the early morning, three and a half hour trip to the beach. Let me tell you, I may have been converted into a spontaneous, adventure kind of girl. Not only was it great to have an entire car ride to get to know my sisters better, but the walking on to the beach was one of the most freeing experiences I've had in a long time. We set up our towels, I put my phone away {mainly because I didn't want to ruin it with sand and tanning oil}, and got out my book. It was five perfect hours of tanning, talking, reading, and napping. It was so nice to get no text messages, emails, or calls, and just....live!
After dinner, we walked on the boardwalk and came across a cute, family-owned candy shop, and took a look around. Like I said, I haven't been to the beach in over 3 years, so the sight of homemade fudge made me really excited. I got 5 pieces of maple nut fudge, and let me tell you, there is something so refreshing about savoring a small amount of something so amazing. I felt like I was a kid again.
On my way home, I finished my last piece of fudge and wished that I could enjoy that little piece of heaven at home....oh wait! I went online and googled around and came across this amazing recipe {tweaked for preference}.
- 3 Cups of White Chocolate Chips
- 1 Can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1/4 Cup of Butter
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Maple Flavored Extract
- 1 1/2 Cup of Chopped Walnuts
Grease an 8x8- inch glass baking dish and line it with a sheet of parchment paper {having the edges come over the side of the dish}.
In a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl, melt the white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes {depending on microwave} until smooth. Don't overhead past the mixture being smooth or the chocolate will scorch. Stir in the maple flavored extract until just combined, then add walnuts.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared baking dish; refrigerate until set {about one hour}. Remove fudge my lifting the parchment paper, then cut into squares.
Most of my family is out of town, so I decided to pull some of the reviews directly from the website that I found this recipe on! With a total of 43 reviews, the recipe averaged a 5/5 stars!
"I must say this recipe is just fabulous!, I followed the directions exactly and the recipe turned out great. My family really enjoyed this recipe and it is one that I will be coming back to again and again."
"The easiest, creamiest, yummiest fudge I have ever made! It looks and tastes PERFECT too! I definately will make this again and give for gifting!"
"Made this for the first time (never had maple fudge before) and it was divine. My son can't keep his hands off it. I had to hide a few pieces so I can have some more! It will become a yearly Christmas treat (if not more often)."
These fudge pieces are SPOT ON, boardwalk quality. Every time that I sneak to the fridge to get a piece of this fudge, I am instantly reminded of the little piece of heaven that I found at Ocean City.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Do you have any other cinnamon roll variation breakfast recipes? Please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know that you're reading! :] It would make my day.
Recipe Slightly Adapted From: All Recipes
Yum, that fudge looks awesome! I had the chance to go to the beach several times when I was in Houston- it was such an awesome change of pace. I hope life slows down for you soon.
ReplyDeleteI am going to need to make this fudge because that sounds delicious and I haven't been to the beach in three years either. I'm glad you were able to be spontaneous and go to the beach! You look so happy in the picture :)
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