Dad's Chocolate Fudge

Here is some fudge my father made. When my father was growing up, his sister often used to make really good chocolate fudge. When she moved out, she gave the recipe to my father. While going through some old stuff, my father recently found this recipe, handwritten on an old piece of paper. This is the first time he has tried to make this fudge (or any fudge at all) since his childhood. Considering recipes from that time were not very descriptive (measurements were not as precise, and methods were not well described, because it was assumed that everyone regularly cooked and knew what they were doing), and my father hadn't made this fudge in ages and was relying on old memories, I would  say he did a pretty good job.

This fudge did not turn out perfectly. First of all, my father wasn't quite sure how long to boil it, so he used his best judgement. It wasn't thickening well upon cooling, so he reboiled it, which actually worked out pretty well in the end, although the fudge still turned out a bit softer than he had wanted it to. I also found the fudge a bit too sickly sweet, and almost as if the sugar didn't quite dissolve completely. The recipe called for a bit of brown sugar along with  a lot of granulated sugar, which gave it a nice flavor, but made it a bit gritty. I also think the fudge could have contained more cocoa powder, as the chocolate flavor did not come through as much as I would have liked. Maybe a higher proportion of milk and butter too. I tasted a spoonful of hot fudge 'sauce' straight from the pot, and it was delicious, but a bit sugary. Overall though, not a terribly bad fudge, a pretty good consistency, and with a few minor changes, this fudge has the potential to be perfect!

There does not seem to be very much luck with fudge making in our house. I myself have attempted to make four different kinds of fudge (all chocolate), and all of them had there hits and misses. One of my recipes turned out way too soft to even cut; one turned out good, but a consistency that was not at all reminiscent of fudge; another turned out pretty well, but not quite worth the time and effort it took to make; and a final one turned out the best, although it certainly was not a traditional fudge recipe.
We will just have to practice, practice, practice, and try, try again!