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My parents live in a small town in Southern California that even most people who are from California have never heard of. It is tucked back amongst winding roads and hills that are covered with avocado groves. When you hit the town limits there is a picture of a smiling avocado declaring Fallbrook to be The Avocado Capitol of the World. My family happens to LOVE avocados. Even before my parents moved to Fallbrook we thought of this creamy decadent fruit as “green gold.” Much to our delight, whenever we visit my parents we are usually sent home to Utah with a box full of them!

The first weeks of our return to Utah see of a diet of guacamole, Tortilla soup, Avocado Aladdin, Green Goddess salad, and anything else we can make to take advantage of our prized avocados. Mind you, these are NOT like the avocados you get in the grocery store. The flavor and texture are far superior. A couple of years ago we had a box of about 40 avocados, which is a lot, even for us! After giving a fair number away I was looking for a new way to use some that had all become ripe at the same time. I remembered a very cute store in Fallbrook that sold Avocado Fudge and I thought it would be fun to give it a try. There weren’t any recipes out there I was enamored with so I winged it.

I submitted the results of my first attempts to a cooking website and was very excited when they decided to publish my recipe! However, in subsequent years I have found that the texture of the fudge is very dependent on the size of the avocados used. I used 2 exceedingly large avocados once and ended up with a fudge that never quite set right. It was very gooey. Not wanting it to go to waste, we used that batch to melt into hot milk for the most amazing hot chocolate! I have since figured out  the “measured” equivalent of 2 medium avocados. We have also decided we prefer a more “dark chocolate” fudge, much less sweet than the original recipe. So after reworking things, again, this recipe is the result. I have added notes for if you prefer a sweeter fudge.

Avocado Fudge

Ingredients

  • 2 medium avocados, peeled and pitted (1 generous cup mashed)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup liqueur of choice – Bailey’s, Frangelico, Peppermint Schnapps, Amaretto, – The liqueur flavor will be very subtle in the finished product. OR 1/4 cup heavy cream and extract of choice (1 tsp Peppermint, 1 Tbsp Vanilla, 1 Tsp almond etc.)
  • 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar – If you like a sweeter fudge, add 1-2 more cups powdered sugar.
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips – if you really like a sweeter fudge you  could use milk chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Place the avocados and melted butter in a medium saucepan. Blend with an immersion blender until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir over low heat.
  2. Pour in the liqueur or heavy cream and extract and stir. I wasn’t sure how much liqueur I wanted at first so I added it 1/4 cup at a time. Also, can you tell I have pretty new measuring cups I had fun using? Thanks for the Christmas gift, Jenny!
  3. Add the cocoa powder and stir until completely incorporated. I used a really good dark Valrhona cocoa. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, making sure the sugar is completely incorporated and the mixture is smooth before adding the next cup.
  4. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave). Do not overheat or chocolate will scorch. Pour the melted chocolate into the sauce pan and mix thoroughly. Remove from the heat.
  5. Line a 9X13-inch pan with wax paper or foil sprayed with cooking spray. Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours but overnight is best. Cut into squares and serve! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.