Cotton Candy Fudge

5 from 6 votes

Cotton Candy Fudge is a quick and easy homemade candy recipe filled with sweet colorful swirls of cotton candy flavor. It's a creamy and smooth treat that tastes just like the spun sugar confection.

Prep Time15

Chill Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 317kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

22 oz (2 11-oz. bags) white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli brand)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup unsalted butter room-temperature
2 tsp cotton candy flavoring divided (I used LorAnn Oils brand)
½-¾ tsp pink gel food coloring (I used Americolor brand Pale Peony #183)
½-¾ tsp purple gel food coloring (I used Americolor brand Lilac #169)

Instructions

Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure that you leave enough parchment paper overhanging the sides so that you can easily pull your fudge out of the pan once chilled. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, melt together the white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and unsalted butter for 6-7 minutes. Make sure to stir often so that your chocolate does not burn or seize up. You want a nice smooth mixture.
In two medium sized bowls (one for each color) add half of the melted chocolate mixture.
To the first bowl add 1 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring and the pink gel food color. Stir until all the white chocolate has turned pink. *Note-Depending on your brand, and shade, of pink you may need to add more/less food coloring to get your desired shade of pink/purple. The brand I used required a heaping ½ teaspoon but you may want to start with ⅛ teaspoon and work your way up to your desired shade.
To the second bowl add the remaining 1 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring and the purple gel food color. Stir until all the white chocolate has turned purple.
Using a large spoon, for each color, drop large spoonfuls of each color randomly into your parchment lined pan until all the cotton candy fudge has been added to the pan.
With a butter knife, or small offset spatula, make swirls in the fudge to create a pretty design.
Place an additional piece of parchment paper over the entire top surface of the fudge and gently press to smooth the top surface of the fudge. Do not remove the top piece of parchment paper until the cotton candy fudge has completely set or you may mess up the pretty swirl design created.
Chill the cotton candy fudge in the refrigerator for 2 hours or on the counter, at room temperature, for 4 hours. Slice and serve.

Video

Notes

Storage:

To Store: You can store this Cotton Candy Fudge in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
To Freeze: This fudge can be frozen for up to a month. Make sure to wrap the fudge tightly in plastic wrap, and then a layer of aluminum foil before freezing to ensure no moisture gets to the fudge.

Tips:

To make sure you can get your fudge out of the pan, I find it easiest to use parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Do not, however line your pan with foil, as it will stick to the fudge.
Make sure that you leave enough parchment paper overhanging the sides so that you can easily pull your fudge out of the pan once chilled.
I highly recommend using gel based food colors when making this, and other, fudge. Gel food colors are typically much more concentrated in color so a little goes a long way. Start with just a drop or so if you want pale colors and add more to get deep colors of your choice. A few good brands are Wilton, Americolor and Chefmaster. These can all be found easily online or at big box retailers like Wal-Mart, Michael’s or other crafter/baking supply stores. Remember that different brands will offer different hues of colors, for example, one brands pink will be different from another brands pink. Just a reminder that when using a water based food coloring for things like candy, or fudge, making the additional liquid added can cause the chocolate to seize up and can ruin your entire batch. This is why using the gel based varieties work best.
I used the LorAnn Oils brand flavoring for this recipe. They can be found at the same places as the gel food colors. They come in many flavors that are not typically found on your local grocery store shelves. They are easy to use but highly concentrated. If you are unsure of the amounts, start with ½ teaspoon and work your way up to the strength of flavor you desire.
I do not suggest using lower quality, or generic brand, white chocolate chips for this recipe. After trial and error I have found that the higher quality brands such as Ghirardelli, Nestle Toll house and Guittard, to name a few, melt so much better and are much easier to work with. White chocolate can be much more temperamental to work with, and melt, than milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips are.
You will need to work very fast when adding your food colors and creating your design with this cotton candy fudge recipe. As the fudge mixture cools it will start to firm up quickly. If you need to loosen it up a little you can warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Be sure to stir it well so that you do not have any hot spots. Do not overheat it in the microwave or it can burn very easily.

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