Step 1

Set a glass of cool water and the 4 tablespoons butter next to the stove.

Step 2

Butter an 8-inch square cake pan and set it aside.

Step 3

Stir the sugar, milk and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over medium and heat, stirring occasionally, to boiling.

Step 4

Once the syrup is boiling, stop stirring.

Step 5

Boil until about halfway between the soft-ball and hard-ball stage, aka "firm-ball" stage (non-Colberts may use a candy thermometer and cook the syrup to 246 F).

Step 6

Immediately remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla; beat vigorously until shiny and thickened a little.

Step 7

Pour into the prepared pan.

Step 8

Let the fudge set someplace cool for a few hours before cutting into squares. Store the fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for days.

Step 9

From " Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves" by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors and reprinted with permission of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.