Goat's Milk Peanut Butter Fudge

DJ loves fudge, and especially peanut butter fudge. Here's my recipe for peanut butter fudge made with goat's milk:

3 cups goat milk

4 cups sugar

1/2 lb butter (two sticks if you buy butter from the store)

2 cups peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

You will need a candy thermometer and a large, flat bottomed pot. Make sure the pot is large enough - the milk will foam up as it approaches the soft ball stage. I like my pot to be 4x the size I would need to contain the milk & sugar, that way it never foams over the top of the pot. The pot pictured below is too small:

Mix your milk and sugar together in the large pot. Make sure the sugar has time to dissolve or your fudge will turn out grainy. Stick your candy thermometer on the side and heat the milk sugar mixture, stirring frequently. You don't need to stir constantly, but you do not want the milk to scorch, so keep close.

It takes a looooong time for the mixture to reach the right temperature. We are aiming for soft ball stage, which is marked on most candy thermometers. If it isn't marked on yours, we are going for 236 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you have reached the magic temperature (and at this point the milk sugar mixture has foamed up a lot), remove the pot from the heat and add in your butter and vanilla extract. Stir until both are dissolved, then add in your peanut butter and stir stir stir!

Pour the melty peanuty goodness into a 9 x 13 casserole pan and cool overnight. Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy! You can halve this recipe if you want a smaller batch of fudge. I usually just bag up some squares and give them out at work to keep the portions manageable.