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These chocolate meltaways are bite-sized, hand-held puddles of chocolate cream cheese fudge that are guaranteed to simply melt in your mouth.
These mini milk chocolate meltaways are the perfect holiday treat for many reasons. They don’t take long to make, you don’t have to bake them, and they last in the fridge for up to two weeks. Not that they’ll last that long, as once you have a bite of one of these chocolate meltaways, you’ll be coming back for more. With a mouthwatering fudge center and a sugary exterior, these bite-sized treats literally melt in your mouth.
If you’re also looking for more candies made from cream cheese, check out cream cheese divinity and cream cheese mints.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cream cheese (check out my easy homemade cream cheese recipe)
- Butter
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla
- Lemon juice
- Milk
- Confectioner’s sugar
Place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, or about one to two minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, vanilla, lemon juice, and milk, and beat again until fully mixed.
Add confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each and scraping down the sides of the bowl, until thick and very sticky like cookie dough. You may not need all of the confectioner’s sugar, so stop when it has the consistency of cookie dough.
Stir together remaining cocoa powder and 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar in a small bowl.
Pinch off small portions of the dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into the cocoa/sugar mixture. Tap to remove excess. Repeat until all dough is used.
You can use some silicone candy molds like those here. Otherwise, you can use a simple technique by pressing down lightly on top of each ball with the tines of a fork to flatten and imprint the design. Yep, so simple and it’s so easy to make these adorable bite-sized fudge treats!
(If you use the link above for the candy molds, please note Southernplate will receive a very small commission should you choose to purchase).
Store these chocolate candies covered, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve. These are decadent easy little treats!
Storage
- You can store these chocolate meltaways in the fridge for up to two weeks, as long as all the ingredients were fresh when you made this recipe.
- If you’d prefer to freeze them, seal them in an airtight container and place them in the freezer for up to one year.
Recipe Notes
Feeling minty? Drop 1/2 teaspoon of mint extract into your dough to instantly make mint chocolate meltaways!
Chocolate Meltaways
Chocolate Fudge Meltaways are little bite-sized, hand-held puddles of chocolate cream cheese fudge that melt in your mouth!
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate
Servings: 50 -60
Calories: 24kcal
Author: Stacey Lynn
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- 5 oz unsweetened cocoa powder split up into 1/2 cup (4oz) and 2 tbsp (1 oz)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 6-7 cups confectioner's sugar plus an additional 1/4 cup for dipping
Instructions
Place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, or about 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, vanilla, lemon juice, and milk and beat again until well combined.
8 ounces cream cheese, 3 tablespoons butter, 5 oz unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon milk
Add 6 to 7 cups of confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Keep adding sugar until the dough is sticky and thick like cookie dough. You will likely use at least 6 cups but may not need the whole 7.
6-7 cups confectioner's sugar
Stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar in a small bowl until no lumps remain. Pinch dough off and form into one-inch balls before rolling in cocoa powder/sugar mixture.
5 oz unsweetened cocoa powder, 6-7 cups confectioner's sugar
Press down lightly on each ball with the tines of a fork to flatten and imprint a pattern. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Can be stored in fridge for up to two weeks if all ingredients are fresh.
Notes
All nutritional calculations are approximate as can change depending on the ingredients chosen and the size of the meltaway created.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meltaway | Calories: 24kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g
You may also like these chocolate candy and fudge recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls No Baking Necessary
Holly Jollies – Candy On A Budget; In A Hurry!
10 Favorite Christmas Candies
Chocolate Fudge That Can Take Over The World
To succeed in life you need three things: A wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.
~Reba McEntire
FAQs
You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).
Why is my 3 ingredient fudge not setting? ›
The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.
How to fix fudge that didn't set? ›
OPTION 3) Sieve together some powdered sugar and cocoa powder, and gradually work this into your unset fudge until it reaches the consistency of dough, then roll out and cut into squares, or shape into balls and then roll in powdered sugar (roll the balls in icing sugar, not yourself).
How to know when fudge is ready? ›
The fudge is ready when a candy thermometer reads between 112°C to 114°C (234°F to 237°F) or the mixture forms a soft ball in cold water.
Should you stir fudge while boiling? ›
Don't stir!
Once the fudge reaches soft-ball stage on the candy thermometer, remove from the heat and let the temperature drop to 110°F. Keep that spoon or spatula out of the pot until this happens. If you stir too early in the process, you'll make the sugar crystals too big and end up with grainy fudge.
What does cream of tartar do in fudge? ›
Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!
How do you firm up homemade fudge? ›
The amount of time you cook fudge directly affects its firmness. Too little time and the water won't evaporate, causing the fudge to be soft. Conversely, cook it too long and fudge won't contain enough water, making it hard with a dry, crumbly texture.
Why do you add vanilla to fudge? ›
Vanilla enhances the flavour of chocolate by adding creaminess, balancing sweetness, and countering acidity and bitterness.
Can I reboil fudge that didn't set? ›
How can you fix soft fudge? Put it in a microwave safe bowl that is large enough that it won't boil over. Reheat it to the boiling point and cook for about 3 more minutes. Then you can beat some powdered sugar into it if this doesn't make it set.
What to do with failed fudge? ›
Good use of failed fudge: fudge that is too hard, too soft, too runny, too sugary, too chewy, etc. Proportions are as follows: for every 2 cups (roughly 1 pound yield) of any failed fudge that is not runny, you'll need 1 egg, ½ cup all-purpose flour, and ½ cup milk. If fudge is soupy, halve the milk (to ¼ cup).
If your fudge is tough, hard, or grainy, then you may have made one of several mistakes: You may have overcooked it, beaten it too long, or neglected to cool it to the proper temperature.
Why does fudge fail? ›
Homemade Fudge Doesn't Always Set
If your fudge doesn't firm up after a few hours, you either have too high an amount of liquid to sugar, or your mixture hasn't reached the soft-ball stage. Using a candy thermometer can help home cooks avoid this problem.
What makes high quality fudge? ›
Candy that isn't cooked long enough will end up too soft; overcooking makes fudge crumbly or hard. High-quality fudge has many small crystals. If the process of crystallization begins too early, fewer crystals form and they become much larger.
What happens if you stir fudge too early? ›
The recipe calls for heating the ingredients to the soft-ball stage, or 234° F, then allowing it to cool undisturbed to approximately 110° F. If you stir during this cooling phase, you increase the likelihood that seed crystals will form too soon.
Why did my fudge turn out like taffy? ›
If the temperature is too low, the fudge will be too soft and sticky, and if it's too high, it will turn into a hard, crumbly mess. The ideal temperature to cook fudge is between 232-234 degrees F (111-112 degrees C).
What gives fudge its firm texture? ›
Too Soft or Too Hard Fudge
The amount of time you cook fudge directly affects its firmness. Too little time and the water won't evaporate, causing the fudge to be soft. Conversely, cook it too long and fudge won't contain enough water, making it hard with a dry, crumbly texture.
Can you beat fudge in a stand mixer? ›
Pour the mixture over the chocolate, being sure to shake, not scrape, the mixture from the pot. Set aside to cool for 10 to 12 minutes. (This prevents a grainy consistency.) Using the clean wooden spoon or a standing mixer on low speed, stir or beat the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated.
What makes fudge softer? ›
If you don't heat your fudge to a high enough temperature, you'll end up with a soft product. And if you heat the mixture too much, your fudge may be harder than you'd like.
What is the ball method fudge? ›
According to most recipes, the ingredients of fudge are cooked to what is termed in kitchen parlance the soft ball stage, that point between 234 and 240 °F (112 and 115 °C) at which a small ball of the candy dropped in ice water neither disintegrates nor flattens when picked up with the fingers.
