Chocolate fudge is a favorite in my family. I call it an "intermediate" recipe because squares don't require delicate handling, the chocolate doesn't need to be tempered, but the cooking process requires a bit of patience.
Read through the entire recipe before beginning.
You need to decide first if you will use a loaf pan or a marble slab for mixing your fudge.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar 2/3 cup milk 2 oz unsweetened chocolate (or less if two ounces seems too bitter for your taste) 2 tsp corn syrup 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp butter or margarine 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts if desired
*Butter a 9" by 5" by 3" loaf pan. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a 2-quart saucepan saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved.
Cook to 234°F or until a small amount of the mixture forms a soft ball in a glass of cold water. If you want to be on the safe side, use a candy thermometer and heat to the soft ball stage.*
Remove from heat and add butter. Cool mixture to 120° F without stirring. Add vanilla and beat vigorously with wooden spoon until candy is thick and no longer glossy.
If you want to use a marble slab like in the picture, use the following directions after completing from * to *.
Before the candy has quite reached the right temperature, sprinkle a few drops of water on your marble slab.
Pour the fudge from the saucepan gently and evenly onto the slab. If you let the last of it drip on what is already there, or if you scrape out the saucepan, this may start crystals forming in the fudge.
[To try some other fudge recipes, <-- follow that link to easy-as-pie delicious candy recipes.]
Spread 1 tablespoon of butter on top of the fudge, letting it melt while the candy is still hot.
Cool the fudge for no more than 15 minutes, undisturbed, until it is lukewarm to the touch. Then work the fudge with a spatula, folding it in on itself like when you knead bread dough. Soon after beginning to work fudge, pour on 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and continue working.
Continue in this way, working from the edges to the center and scraping the slab and spatula clean. Do not add these scrapings back to the candy, unless you like the different texture. If you want smooth and creamy, don't do it!
If you want to add nuts, do so when the fudge is creamy but not firm. Add them a few at at time and work them in before adding more.
When fudge gets firm, press it out to about 3/4" thick. There are tools called 'candy bars' for this, but I have always done it by hand and don't mind an uneven appearance. Cut it into squares when totally cooled.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Read through the entire recipe before beginning. 
