Penuche

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Penuche is a fudge flavor made from brown sugar, butter, and milk,^[1] using no flavorings except for vanilla. Penuche often has a tannish color to it and is lighter than regular fudge.^[2] It is formed by the caramelization of brown sugar, and thus its flavor is said to be reminiscent of caramel. Nuts, especially pecans, are often added to penuche used for texture, especially in the making of penuche candies.^[1] It is primarily a regional food, found in New England and some places in the Southern United States, though in the latter it goes by different names, usually "Brown Sugar Fudge Candy". It is rather more difficult to prepare than traditional chocolate fudge.

In recent years, it has become common in New England to add maple syrup to the recipe for penuche fudge. Some confectioners will call this "maple syrup penuche fudge" and others don't make any distinction at all - such is the popularity of this newer recipe.

Penuche is also used as a boiled icing flavor. It was once very popular in Hawaii where the name was localized as Panocha or Panuche. Hawaiian cooks often reminisce about both panocha fudge and icing. As an icing, it was common as topping for prune cake.^[3] Other names for Penuche include Noochie and creamy praline fudge.

One penuch-style recipe is called "no bake penuche drop cookies",^[4] which involves using brown sugar, milk, butter, oats, and nuts to make.