My Madison Bistro

A couple of years ago, I had a craving for a hot fudge sundae. But not any old hot fudge sundae, you see, I had to have ice cream topped with my mom’s hot fudge. I *kind of* remembered the ingredients and amounts, but not really.

What I definitely knew was that my mom’s recipe used evaporated milk. So I searched the internet for a hot fudge recipe using evaporated milk.

All I could find was recipes using half and half or heavy cream.

So I called my mom. She didn’t answer. I don’t recall if my mom had a cell phone at that point, but even if she did, it was almost always on vibrate in those days, so she wouldn’t have heard it anyway. And besides, I needed hot fudge sauce right then! So I used a recipe similar to what I thought my mom used and was gravely disappointed.

It. Tasted. All. Wrong.

Since then, there’s probably a copy of my mom’s recipe in every notebook I own, as well as on a few post-its here and there. And now my mom and I text all of the time, so I’ll never be without the recipe, anyway. Plus, it’s now immortalized on the Internet, so I can look it up any time I want, from anywhere I please.

My mom prefers to make brownie sundaes (and really, they are something to behold), but since I’m more of a cookie person, and I’d been craving M&M cookies for sometime now, the cookie sundae made an appearance. The assembly is simple: a scoop or two of high quality vanilla ice cream, a cookie or two, and hot fudge sauce (the more, the better).

Mom’s Hot Fudge Sauce*

2/3 c chocolate chips
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 can (14 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter over moderate heat in medium saucepan. Add chocolate chips, whisk to melt. Slowly pour in evaporated milk while whisking. Add powdered sugar in 4 batches while whisking. Bring mixture to a boil.

Boil for 8 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and cool slightly. Pour over ice cream.

Refrigerate leftovers.

*Incidentally, since my search all of those years ago for a hot fudge recipe using evaporated milk, Peabody posted a similar recipe not too long ago. The proportions aren’t exactly the same, but they’re not too far off. I’ve loved drooling over her blog for awhile now…this recipe just cements what I already knew: she posts awesome, drool-worthy recipes!

M&M Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ cup non-hydrogenated shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 cups M&M’s

Preheat oven to 375*F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Sift baking soda, salt, and flour into medium bowl.

Cut butter into 8 pieces and beat with paddle attachment until smooth (if using a hand mixer, use a large bowl). Add shortening, beat until combined. Add sugars and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, until just mixed, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Add vanilla.

With mixer on low, slowly add flour until just incorporated. Fold in candy.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes or until cookies are light golden. Cool on pan for 5 minutes before removing to baking sheet.

Tags: chocolate, comfort food, cookies

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