Gammy's Fudge Candy

This is my Grandmother's (Gammy as we called her) recipe.  She is the beautiful lady pictured above holding my mother.  She perfected this recipes over the years and was her favorite home made gift to give during the Holidays. It was also everyone's favorite gift to receive from her! That included me as well. One of my fondest holiday traditions is this fudge.  As I grew into womanhood I learned to make this fudge and carried her loving torch in gifting it to others.  It quickly became famous in my little circle of friends.  There are people I haven't seen all year or in years who still contact me at Christmas to know if they are getting their annual batch of fudge.  I like to think there is some Gammy, some of that beautiful loving woman inside of me.  At least I know I have her fudge making abilities!

Ingredients:
3 cups of Sugar
1/2 cup of Powder Cocoa (the kind you bake with)
1 cup of Evaporated Milk (regular milk will do if that's all you have on hand)
1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) of butter or margerine
4 tablespoons of Corn Syrup
Pinch of Salt

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a heavy, large saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches a soft ball consistency (235° - 240°).  Remove from heat.   Add 1 cup of chopped nuts if desired.  Stir until it cools a bit and starts to get a little stiff.  Either pour it into a buttered dish or drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Let cool completely before storing it in containers.

Useful Tips:
If you are a novice at making candy you should buy a good candy thermometer. This will help ensure you take your candy off the fire at the appropriate stage and that your candy will set properly.  If you are unsure about whether the candy has cooled enough but not too much to be dropped by spoonful, then pouring it into a buttered dish is much easier.  The candy doesn't have to cool as long to be poured and doesn't require as much accuracy in knowing the "feel" of your fudge.  If the candy has set too much and is too stiff to be poured or dropped, add a little milk to the pot and return it to a medium fire until its liquid again and then remove from the fire and stir again until the consistency is a bit stiff again.

Now for the best part, PICTURES!