307 stage recipes

Homemade peanut butter fudge cooks sugar and milk to soft-ball stage, then beats in butter and peanut butter for a four-ingredient old-fashioned candy. The classic stovetop fudge.

This delicate soup, popular 100 years ago, is now unusual. On no account should it be liquidized at any stage, as that ruins the texture

Old-fashioned chocolate fudge made from scratch with unsweetened chocolate, sugar, milk, and butter, cooked to soft ball stage. Studded with walnuts and candied cherries.

French chocolate caramels made with real vanilla bean, melted chocolate, and butter cooked to the ball stage. Old-world confection technique with rich, chewy results.

Chocolate popcorn fudge: classic stovetop chocolate fudge cooked to soft-ball stage with chopped popped corn folded in for surprise crunch in every creamy square.

Maple-pecan pralines cook sugar, evaporated milk, and corn syrup to soft-ball stage with toasted pecans and maple extract. Creamy, melt-in-your-mouth Southern candy with a New England twist.

Santa's white fudge made with sour cream, corn syrup, and sugar cooked to soft-ball stage, then loaded with candied cherries and pecans. Creamy holiday candy in an 8x8 pan.

No-bake peanut butter fudge squares with marshmallow creme, evaporated milk, and sugar cooked to soft ball stage. Four ingredients, 64 pieces, pure candy-counter flavor.

Buttermilk pecan pralines cooked to soft ball stage for a creamy, melt-on-your-tongue candy loaded with toasted pecan halves. The buttermilk and baking soda create a caramel flavor that plain sugar pralines can't touch.

Old-fashioned chocolate butterscotch fudge cooked to soft ball stage with sweetened condensed milk, crunchy walnuts, and a toffee-like richness you won't find in shortcut recipes.

Homemade chocolate fondant candies made from a sugar syrup cooked to firm-ball stage, kneaded with unsweetened chocolate, then finished with pecans or dipped in white chocolate.

Old-school Italian focaccia built on a two-stage rise, olive oil, and unbleached flour. A chewy, golden flatbread ready for any topping from rosemary to olives.

Master method for cooking duck: first steam to render fat and tenderize, then roast at moderate heat for crisp skin. The two-stage technique pros use for perfectly rendered, crackling-skinned duck.

Peanut fudge is old-school stovetop chocolate fudge made with milk, corn syrup, and unsweetened chocolate, beaten to the classic soft-ball stage and loaded with salted peanuts.

Old-fashioned coconut fudge candy shaped into little haystacks. Brown sugar, butter, and shredded coconut cooked to soft-ball stage, then dropped onto wax paper. Makes about 60 pieces.

Honey glaze for roasting meat with black pepper, dill, fennel, and cinnamon cooked to soft ball stage. Scales per pound and works on pork, ham, chicken, or beef roasts.