Mamie Eisenhower’s Million Dollar Fudge Recipe

I consider myself lucky to have grown up next door to my grandparents because I learned so much from the both of them. My siblings, parents and grandparents were all very close and we spent most of our time together. My grandfather was an engineer for the Santa Fe railroad and when he wasn’t out on the road he was at home in his garage building or fixing something. He had almost any tool you can think of including welding torches, drill presses, belt saws, sanders and the list goes on and on… I spent many hours with him in that garage (starting at an early age) which is where I picked up my love for trying to fix anything that breaks and not being afraid to try something new. I may not be as good at fixing things as my grandfather, but I learned that if I don’t try, it won’t happen.

Meanwhile, my grandmother was constantly cooking great food. We ate dinner at their house several nights per week and we always loved whatever she cooked, except for Lima beans! Our house was about 100 yards from our elementary school, so my brothers and I would walk home for lunch, my favorite lunch meal was her ‘grilled’ cheese sandwich that my grandmother made in the broiler.. so cheesy, buttery and delicious, I can taste it now! :)

I previously shared my grandma’s Hungarian rolls (Click here for my Easy Monkey Bread recipe), but that is just one of the many special treats and desserts she so lovingly made. Another one my favorites was her fudge and my mom has continued to make it from the original recipe every holiday season. I always look forward to eating a little.. or a lot. I decided this last Christmas to ask my mom for the recipe so that I could try making it myself. I remember helping her make it while growing up (many years ago) but have never attempted to make it myself. This year I decided to finally give it a try. When we talked about it she told me that it was Mamie Eisenhower’s fudge recipe. Mamie was the wife of President Eisenhower and this recipe became popular during his time in office. She texted me a picture of her recipe card which I used for the recipe and now am passing on to all of you… Enjoy!

My mom makes a slight variation of this recipe that I like to call, ‘Multi-Million Dollar Fudge‘… She replaces 2 of the 3 – 4oz German’s sweet chocolate bars with: 1 bar – semi-sweet chocolate and 1 bar – unsweetened chocolate. She likes this version best because the fudge is a little less sweet. I love both options.

Whether you make Mamie’s original or my Mom’s Multi-Million Dollar variation, I think you will enjoy this ageless treat!

-Jeff