I had every intention of kicking off the month of December, aka holiday baking season, with a new cookie recipe. But those plans changed after I made this ridiculously delicious, drop-the-mic, shut the front door Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce. I thought you needed this sinfully luscious fudge sauce in your life sooner rather than later. Because instead of, or maybe in addition to gifting your family and friends with a box of homemade cookies, you just might want to gift them a jar of this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce. Throw in a gift certificate to their favorite ice cream store and you will be in contention for the best ever, most thoughtful gift giver!
And, if by chance, they happen to have a serious soft spot for chocolate and peanut butter, this simple gift will prove the best gifts are not always the most expensive, the most sought after, or the trendiest ones. They are often the simplest, most thoughtful ones. And, the best part of gifting friends/family with a jar of this sauce is that everything you need to make it is not sitting in a container docked offshore somewhere.
If there was ever a fudge sauce to take serving a bowl of ice cream for dessert from good to great, it would be this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce.
The fudge sauce takes less than twenty minutes to make. Other than chopping the unsweetened chocolate and cutting the butter into pieces, there is no other advance prep you need to do. No letting ingredients come to room temperature, no letting it rest for hours or overnight, or no patiently waiting for the mixture to reach a certain temperature. All you need a good heavy bottomed saucepan, a whisk. a scale to measure out your ingredients, and some good quality glass jars.
The directions for making the fudge sauce are pretty straightforward. In other words, it's really easy to make.
One taste of this insane, heavenly Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce and you may never again want to adorn your ice cream with a jar of store-bought fudge sauce.
While I think it's the perfect topping for a bowl of ice cream, you could also pour this fudge sauce over brownies, a slice of pound cake, or a bowl of sliced bananas. I would tell you to try resist eating it right out of the jar but as a chocolate-peanut butter lover that would be foolish advice.
This Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce checks off all of the holiday 'food' gift giving boxes. It's a gift made with love, it's the right kind of decadent, it's easy to make, it's ridiculously scrumptious, it's perfect for the person who has everything or wants for nothing, and it's destined turn anything it's poured on into a euphoric eating experience. And more than likely you will be making this fudge sauce long after the holidays are over.
Recipe
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup whole milk
5/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/3 cup (28g) unsweetened Dutch chocolate cocoa (see notes)
3 ounces (88g) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup (56g) creamy peanut butter (I used JIF)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Flaky sea salt for finishing
Directions
1. In a heavy bottomed medium sized saucepan, heat the sugar, milk, and Kosher salt over medium heat. Gently whisk until sugar has dissolved and sugar has completely dissolved. When the mixture begins to bubble around the edges of the pan (about 4-5 minutes), reduce heat to low, and whisk in the cocoa until smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes. Whisk sauce until the chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add in the butter and whisk until the sauce thickens slightly.
4. Whisk in the peanut butter until fully incorporated.
5. Whisk in the vanilla.
6. Pour into glass jars (see notes). Top each jar with a lightly sprinkling of flaky sea salt.
7. Unless serving immediately, let the sauce cool. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Sauce will keep up to one month in the refrigerator.
8. Heat the chilled sauce in a small pan or in a microwave and pour over your favorite ice cream.
Notes: (1) Use good quality glass jars (e.g., Weck, Ball) for store the sauce in. The recipe makes 2 cups. Use pint or half pint jars. (2) I used the King Arthur Double Dutch Dark Cocoa Powder but would highly recommend Droste Dutch Processed Cocoa. (3) Do not use a 'natural' peanut butter when making this sauce.
