Lemon Walnut Fudge

Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt in a large, heavy bottom saucepan. Stir
to mix and break up any lumps of cocoa powder. Add the corn syrup, milk and
2 tablespoons of the butter.

Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture
comes to a boil. Stop stirring; cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid for
about a minute to steam off any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan.
Watch closely so the fudge does not boil over.

Uncover and continue to cook (without stirring), swabbing down the sides of
the pan from time to time with a pastry brush dipped in water, until the
temperature reaches the soft-ball stage.

Use a candy thermometer, or the old-fashioned method of dropping a bit of
the hot candy into a cup of cold water every so often. When it forms a
cohesive puddle on the bottom of the cup and can be formed into a ball that
flattens when lifted out of the water, that’s “soft-ball” stage.)
Immediately swab down the sides of the pan. Pour (do not scrape) the fudge
onto a slab of marble or a large platter or into a flat baking dish.

Heat the lemon zest, juice, and vanilla to boiling and pour over the hot
candy. Top with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Let the mixture cool
to room temperature without disturbing it. Stir the fudge with a spatula or
plastic scraper until it becomes thick and starts to lose its gloss. This
is the exercise part…feel the burn….it takes a while! Add the chopped
nuts just as the fudge becomes too stiff to stir.

Spread the fudge onto a buttered plate or sheet of plastic wrap. After a
few minutes, it will solidify and you can wrap and store it for several
days–even weeks if you keep it a secret! Yields 2-1/8 lbs.