White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge with Caramelized Pecans

White chocolate, juicy cranberries and pecans draped in sweet caramel, all wrapped up together in the most delicious and easy white chocolate fudge recipe ever.

Perfect for giving as an edible gift or just enjoying some great little fudge bites yourself. No candy thermometer needed (I hate using them!) or any fancy ingredients. It’s incredible how a bunch of everyday ingredients combined result in such incredible flavors.

The crunch from the pecans is just right to balance the creamy softness of the fudge. You could just use regular pecans but the toasted caramel flavor is really the showstopper of this dessert and I definitely recommend going the extra mile by caramelizing them, which in plain English means just swishing them around in a pan with some sugar and butter until they look all shiny and gooey. Doesn’t sound so intimidating now, does it?

And if you are a fan of cranberries, you could easily double the amount below for maximum berry goodness. I wanted to reserve the spotlight for the caramelized nuts, which were sooo good even on their own that I had serious trouble saving them for the fudge topping. Might have to make a Christmas brittle of some kind using these yummy bits.

This fudge recipe is as easy as it gets, and the result is both extremely pretty and utterly satisfying. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge with Caramelized Pecans

Creamy, dreamy soft white chocolate fudge with just the right amount of crunch from caramelized pecans and a sweet berry flavor from dried cranberries.

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Ingredients

  

White chocolate cranberry fudge

• 1 1/3 cup white chocolate chopped
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Caramelized pecans

• 1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

 

Caramelized pecans

• Make the caramelized pecans first. Chop the pecans very roughly, approximately halving each one so they won’t burn on the pan. Put pecans, sugar and butter on a skillet and turn on medium heat.
• Stir constantly with a heat-proof spatula for approximately 10 minutes depending on your heat level, until both butter and sugar have melted and the pecans are coated in the caramel. Take care not to burn the pecans.
• Pour the pecans to a piece of parchment paper laid on a heat-proof working surface and immediately separate them from each other for easy handling later on. Use spoons or forks to separate the caramelized pecans, as the mixture will still be very hot. Leave to cool and harden and if not using them on the same day, store in an airtight container.

White chocolate fudge

• Chop the white chocolate up and put in a heat-safe, large bowl, set aside. Prepare a 8 x 8 sized baking dish by lining it with two strips of crisscrossing parchment paper, to help getting the fudge out of the dish. Prep your electric mixer so it will be ready to use.
• In a large saucepan, heat sugar, butter, salt and heavy cream on medium heat until butter has melted, stirring to keep ingredients from sticking to the bottom. When all of the butter has melted, turn up the heat until you reach a rolling boil. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Please wear a long-sleeved shirt and protect your hands with an oven mitten or similar when whisking to avoid getting any splatter on your skin.
• Boil for 4 minutes, stirring nonstop to keep mixture from rising too high in the pan. Adjust the temperature so the mixture won’t boil over but still maintains a rolling boil.
• Pour the hot mixture in the bowl with the white chocolate and mix with the electric mixer with moderate speed for about 1-2 minutes, until there are no more unmelted chocolate pieces. Add cranberries to the mixture and mix quickly with a spoon until combined.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared dish over the parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle on the caramelized pecans, covering the entire surface evenly. Gently pat the pieces on the fudge so that they will stick to it better.
• Let cool on a counter top until room-temperature. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 3 hours. Take the fudge out of the dish by lifting the parchment papers. Cut into squares with a sharp knife and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.