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Can I melt Brach's Milk Chocolate Stars or Hearts to make fudge?

Cascabel
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Karen Larson
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  • Chocolate to fudge I get but... are you talking about the candy hearts with words on them, the ones that are definitely not chocolate? – Cascabel Feb 04 '16 at 03:45
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    Do you have a fudge recipe you're working from? What kind of chocolate does it call for? Brach's chocolate candy is generally much sweeter and less flavorful than cooking or baking chocolate. It also contains artificial vanilla flavoring which might lend an unpleasant taste to your finished product. – ElmerCat Feb 04 '16 at 04:58
  • The fudge recipe we have used for decades calls for baking chocolate and chocolate chips 50/50. – user3169 Feb 04 '16 at 05:04
  • You should add links to the particular items mentioned (on their website I suppose), so it is clear which ones you are asking about. – user3169 Feb 04 '16 at 05:05
  • @Jefromi I'm pretty sure she means [these](http://www.amazon.com/Brachs-Milk-Chocolate-Hearts-9-2oz/dp/B006JDEG48). My first thought was the conversation hearts, too, but that really didn't make any sense at all. – Catija Feb 04 '16 at 15:43
  • @Catija Oh, should've tried searching for chocolate hearts instead of candy hearts like the OP said. Must be it, edited! – Cascabel Feb 04 '16 at 16:00
  • The fudge recipes I use all use cocoa, usually Dutch process. – Escoce Feb 04 '16 at 16:24

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Fudge is candy. Like all candy making it is built on a concentrated sugar syrup. Fudge is differentiated from other candy in that it is encouraged to form tiny crystals and is high in fat.

The chocolate in fudge provides two things: flavor and fat. Although less traditional, plenty of recipes for fudge variants leave out the chocolate altogether.

As @ElmerCat said above, chocolate candy already has a ton of sugar in it. This wouldn't be a problem but it might change the timing of your candy cooking. More sugar to liquid means the candy will not need to cook as long. You'd have to watch your temperature.

The real problem is that chocolate candy like that doesn't taste much like chocolate at all. You would be able to make fudge with the right texture and color but it would taste bland.

Sobachatina
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  • These two products are labeled as 100% milk chocolate, whatever that means... Does that effect your response at all? – Catija Feb 04 '16 at 16:47
  • I don't think so- you want the chocolate to be strongly flavored. Any kind of milk chocolate will have a lot of extra sugar and the flavor will be more dilute. – Sobachatina Feb 04 '16 at 17:05