This one has been carried around on notecards for decades. I'll try to link a scan of selfsame. In the meanwhile:
Butter up a pan. 9 x 9 will do nicely, but you’ll figure out your own pan for thickness &c.
In a large* saucepan, stir:
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 oz. baking chocolate
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup light corn syrup
over low heat until sugar dissolves and the solution begins to boil.
* Seriously, use a much larger pan than you think you will need. Sugar and milk both foam way up into huge messes when they start to get really hot. You don’t want this to boil over. You don’t want to have to clean this mess off of your stove.
Cook without stirring until the stuff reaches a soft ball stage (230-240 °F).
Take off the stove, toss in
- large lump of butter
- at least 1 tsp vanilla
Beat with an electric mixer until it all starts to congeal.
If you want to add some manner of nuts or raisins or whatever, this is the time to stir them in.
Pour it all into the buttered pan and try to exercise some self-control while waiting for it all to cool off and be ready to cut. You can always console yourself by licking off the beaters and scraping the remaining deliciousness out of the pan.
