Recipe - Penuche Frosting

1 cup Brown Sugar (light; packed)
1 One half cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Light Cream (or
HalfandHalf)
1/3 cup Milk
2 tablespoon Butter
One half cup Pecans (preferred) or
Walnuts (chopped)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Combine sugars, milk, and cream in a 2quart sauce pan and bring to medium
heat until sugars dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil stirring constantly
until candy thermometer reaches 236°F (softball drop stage) or for about 8
minutes. Remove from heat and add butter stirring until melted. Let set
unstirred until the temperature is 110°F (uncomfortable to touch but won't
burn you) then add vanilla and stir vigorously (510 minutes) until mixture
cools enough to lose it's glossy texture. Fold in nuts and pour.
Remarks:

A simple fudge with a unique taste from the molasses in the brown sugar.
Penuche is a standard around Easter. Also a regional favorite popular in
Southern States and in Mexico.

If you don't have brown sugar you may substitute 1 cup of white sugar + 1/4
cup molasses.

WARNING: Don't substitute 2 One half cups of light brown sugar for the mixture
of brown and granulated sugar. This would result in too much molasses which
interfers with the sugar slurry reaching it's soft ball stage... therefore
what would appear to set by the standard techniques (boiling temperature,
droptest, etc.) won't set... fluid fudge... fudge failure!

Posted to EATL Digest by Janet Baker jbaker@ACCUNET.NET on Sep 3, 1997