hot stuff, comin' through

Once upon a time, I made a fantastic batch of fudge. It was so good, I made it again and again and never tried any other recipe or budged from exactly what was written.

Now, four years later, I'm branching out. Instead of adding mint extract and crushed peppermint candies, I decided to satisfy my cinnamon cravings and toss in some red hots, or as they're known in more sophisticated circles, cinnamon imperials.

That's right--those little candies are good for more than just making terrific baked apples, applesauce, or apple pie. While they were tasty in this fudge, I made the mistake of adding them in their unbusted form. In doing this, they remained quite hard until the fats softened them up and also didn't impart much cinnamon flavor. The trick, as I discovered, is to crush them pretty finely; that way, your teeth don't get broken and your mouthful of fudge gives you a nice cinnamon kick.

If I'm being honest, the mint fudge is still my favorite, but this is a pretty awesome alternative.

Red Hots Fudge
Ingredients:

• 12 ounce package vanilla chips
• 16 ounce can vanilla frosting
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup red hots candy, crushed
• Red food coloring, optional

Directions:
Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper. Melt the vanilla chips and frosting in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and chopped red hots. Spread the creamy goodness into the prepared pan. Drip the food coloring over the fudge and swirl decoratively with a knife, if desired. Chill until set.