Well, it’s not technically FUDGE fudge. But it’s a fudge-like texture, and a delicious flavor. And so much easier to make than actual fudge. I didn’t even need a candy thermometer.

I cobbled together a new recipe from some other low-carb recipes. The main thing I was looking for, besides a fudgey texture, was maple flavor. Which is one of my favorite flavors in the world.

1 stick butter
4 oz. (1/2 cup) peanut butter
1 oz. cream cheese*
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder**
1/2 cup sugar-free maple flavor syrup
2 Tbsp. Splenda (3 packets)
1/4 cup chopped pecans

* I was supposed to use 2 oz., but I screwed up and only used one. Still tasty.
** One of the recipes I used as a base called for the whey powder. I had it on hand. I figured more protein was always welcome to the party.

Toss the peanut butter and butter into a bowl and microwave for a minute. (I weighed the PB on the food scale, which is much easier than putting it in a measuring cup and then digging it back out.) Add the cream cheese, microwave for another minute. Stir. Add the syrup, whey powder, and Splenda. At this point, it’ll separate. Don’t panic! Whisk it for a minute, and it gets all thick and groovy. Add the pecans and stir them in.

I put this into two little square plastic containers, lined with waxed paper, so it was about an inch thick. I tried just cooling it in the fridge, but it didn’t get firm enough. I think that’s because of the maple syrup (just today, I finally found “maple flavor extract” to use), so I tossed it into the freezer. That worked! Firm, but not TOO firm. Fudgey.

I cut it into 24 one-inch cubes. It’s terribly rich. Here’s the nutrition info:

Per 1″ cube (24 cubes for the batch)
80 calories
7 grams fat
2 grams carbohydrate
– 0.5 grams dietary fiber
– 1 gram sugar alcohol
2.5 grams protein

Also, by replacing the maple-flavor sugar-free syrup with extract/flavor, I can get the sugar alcohols out of there. The syrup I have is mainly sorbitol, with a few other sweeteners, and some people react to sugar alcohols like sorbitol in an … explosive manner. If you know what I mean. So don’t eat too many pieces at once.