By: Kimberly Boyd
My momma was a single mom up until my 10th grade year when she married my study hall teacher. So, as a kid I watched her work hard for every penny she earned to support my brother and me. Even though I didn’t grow up in the traditional family setting, we still created memories as a family. My dream one day was to have my own family and my own traditions.
So, when my husband and I got married, I had dreams of having “that” family. He came from a beautiful family with lots of traditions. I tell him all the time he has a “Leave it to Beaver” family! Every since I was little, I wanted a house filled with sweet smelling cookies baking in the oven and kids playing sweetly in the floor. I wanted that all-American family dream with lots of traditions and memories!
God blessed us with four children, and I do bake cookies and pray they don’t burn while I am running around taking care of the house. The kids play in the floor; however, WWIII is usually breaking out as someone is blaming the other one for cheating on a game of UNO or one of the kids have body slammed the other one on the couch trying to do a WWE move. Our house isn’t perfect, but it is filled with love, traditions, and making memories.
One winter December day of 2014, I had gone to town visiting my mom, picking the kids up from school, and shopping at the dollar store. My husband came home from work, and calls me and says, “Hey! I just got home and there is a package on our porch.”
I rushed home with excitement wondering what in the world it could be. I wasn’t expecting any packages. We all sat down in the living room and opened the unknown Christmas package. As the kids peeled back the paper, there sat an Elf on the Shelf and the book explaining his history. My kids leaped for joy and we decided to name him, Rodger.
If you know me well, Rodger has become the most excitement ever in our household! Our kids count down the days for his return! For years, we never knew where he came from (I do now but it’s still a secret to all four of my kids even my 18 year old doesn’t know!), and our little kids still believe he came from the North Pole. But, his appearance and visits has become a family tradition that I absolutely love! Rodger the Elf is very mischievous and has done down right crazy things. From stealing our living room TV, permanent marker Elf tattoos while they slept, toilet papering our Christmas tree, booby trapping the kids in their rooms, silly stringing the entire house, elf snotting them while they slept, you name it and Rodger the Elf has done it! Our Elf on the Shelf is known for his pranks! But this… this just makes Christmas memories even sweeter for the kids!
So, for day #4 of “Oh Fudge”, I bring you Rodger’s Cookie Dough Fudge truly inspired by chocolate chip cookies and Christmas memories! Just remember, the memories created as a family last a life time of joy and blessings that kids never forget!
Rodger’s Cookie Dough Fudge
Ingredients:
1 stick of Butter
¾ cup of Sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 cup of Self-Rising Flour
1 ¼ cup of Mini Chocolate Chips (divided)
1 (14oz) can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 ½ cup of White Chocolate (melted)
Directions:
First, grease an 8×9 square pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment or foil paper.
Next, with a mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla till smooth. Add the flour and beat until combined. Stir in one cup of the mini chocolate chips. This makes the cookie dough mixture.
In another bowl, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave for about 30 to 45 seconds and then combine sweetened condensed milk. Last fold in the cookie dough mixture with the other bowl of sweetened condense milk and melted white chocolate. Stir until all is combined.
Pour cookie dough fudge into the lined pan and top with the remaining ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips.
Refrigerate until fudge is firm. This takes about two hours. Remove from pan by lifting the edges of parchment paper and cut into squares. Enjoy!
