An easier fudge recipe that's still homemade! No candy thermometer! Boil sugar, butter, and milk for 5 minutes, add marshmallows and chocolate chips, stir, and enjoy!
Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper. (Or, you can butter the pan, but it's easier to cut fudge if you can lift it out.) Set pan aside.
Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in a large, heavy pan. Heat over medium-high heat and stir to combine. Stir occasionally to help the butter melt, and scrape the bottom so that the milk doesn't scorch.
Meanwhile, prepare your other ingredients. If using bars of chocolate, chop your chocolate into small pieces. Cut regular-sized marshmallows into quarters. Gather your nuts and vanilla.
Bring sugar-milk mixture to a full rolling boil. The entire surface will be bubbles. The liquid will double in volume and will come close to the top of the pan. Set aside your stirring spoon and boil for 5 minutes, with no stirring. If the mixture looks like it will boil over, edge down the heat slightly, just enough to keep it from making a mess.
After your 5 minute timer goes off, remove the pot from the heat. Immediately add the chocolate, marshmallows, nuts (if using), and vanilla. Use a clean wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula to stir everything together. Mix until the chocolate and marshmallows are completely melted and stirred in. The mixture (without nuts) will be relatively smooth. Fudge on the spoon will start to crackle if you take a break from stirring. This whole process takes me about 4-5 minutes.
Pour into your prepared pan, trying to get it into all the corners in one go. Smooth it slightly. Let cool for at least 2 hours before removing the parchment from the pan and cutting.
Store fudge in an airtight container. Cool room temperature is fine. If packing to ship, cut fudge into slices and wrap in 2 layers of waxed paper. Eat cut fudge within 1-2 weeks. Wrapped fudge will keep a little while longer.
Be sure you use evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk, which contains sugar.
Use a mix of chocolate. Do not try only milk or only semisweet chocolate; it will not be as good.
Chocolate: I use 1 bag of milk chocolate chips; 4 ounces of randomly assembled grocery store chocolate (like leftover Hershey bars or other candy); and 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips. I recommend using dark chocolate chips with a higher percentage of cocoa for the semisweet as it makes the fudge a little richer.
Calorie count is an estimate and does not include nuts. Specific calorie count will vary depending on the specific chocolate you use and the size you cut your pieces.