Scottish Tablet: crumbly buttery vanilla fudge candy.
Scottish Tablet is tricky to describe but I will try…it’s really a mix somewhere between a fudge & toffee. It is considered a medium-soft candy, not too hard, not too soft, but very crumbly. It has an incredible crumbly buttery grainy texture to it that I love! This recipe is definitely made for those with a real sweet tooth, like me. ;)
I searched for weeks looking on European sites trying to find the perfect Scottish Tablet Recipe. Most of the recipes out there had bad reviews or were a soft version that I was not looking for. Then…after all my searching I narrowed in down to 2 recipes & came up with this one. I found the recipe fairly easy to make, it might seem like a pain to stand by the stove for almost half an hour but I think it was worth it.
Tip: I think I beat mine a little too long at the end of the process & caused it to become a little dried out so I recommend only beating it for a minute or less after you remove it from the heat. When it cools down is seems to harden right away which is why beating it for the recommended 4 minutes was too long when I made mine.
- 4 cups sugar
- ¼ cup butter (I used salted)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (1⅓ cups)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grease a 9x13" pan or you can use another size depending on how thick you want it.
- Heat sugar, butter, vanilla, & milk in a large sauce pan over stove, bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add condensed milk & boil for about 15 minutes, until mixture starts to thicken/darken, stir it frequently.
- Remove from heat, beat until it's thick & creamy, about 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan.
- Let set at room temperature until fully set. Cut into 1" squares. Keep in airtight container for up to 12 days.
Wow! Nice dessert with easy steps.
Thanks!
Yummy… creative thought & sweet !!!!! :-)
Thanks. :)
Thanks! Going to try all.
My grandmother used to make a tablet (scottish fudge) using peanut butter and this recipe looks very close to what I remember her doing. I wonder if substituting peanut butter for the butter would work? I might give it a try this weekend.
I’ve never tried making it with peanut butter but that sounds like it would be delicious! It still might need some butter in the recipe though.
I whipped in a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter during that last step and the flavor was dead-on! My family agreed that it was a bit smoother than what we remember of my grandmother’s tablet so I might cut the butter back a little next time. But it is a fabulous recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I’m so glad your family liked the recipe! Thanks for commenting & Happy Holidays!
My grandmother used to make tablet and none of us “youngin”s have been able to replicate it. I’m going to try this recipe and see how close it is to what I remember.
I hope you like it! It’s a favorite of mine!
Thank you I have tried this recipe tonight and it worked very well. Perfect texture for me. I boiled for perhaps 13 mins not 15 and I think I slightly overdid it, but really easy for fudge! I have had many failures in the past.
Hi Kyra, I’m so glad the recipe turned out for you! Thanks for commenting & Happy Holidays!
I followed the instructions, but when I poured it, it’s a pale brown colour and is runny. Have I ruined it? How can I fix it?
Hi Nikki, Did you mix it with an electric mixer? It should harden up after sitting for awhile.
I didn’t boil it long enough. I fixed it and it turned out perfect, and a tablespoon of peanut butter tasted phenomenal in it! Thanks for a truly great recipe???
Hi Nikki, I’m glad it turned out! Adding peanut butter sounds like a delicious idea, I will have to try that. Thanks for commenting!
I wanted to ask about “beating” it. Do you mean with a whisk or an electric beater? Would even matter or make a difference?
Many thanks :)
Hi Morgan, I used an electric mixer but you don’t want to mix it for too long or it will dry out. I’m not sure about using a whisk, I have not tried making it that way.
Thanks Katie!
Katie,
I know it’s Christmas Eve so aim sorry to message you. I was trying to. Ale this for my husband…
It turned out completely dry and hard as a rock. It was so dry that I beat it for only about 30secs. Did I cook it too long??
Hi, The recipe is supposed to harden & be a little on the dry side, that is completely normal. As mine in the picture shows, it is crumbly. It should be completely edible and melt in your mouth.
This recipe is not like chocolate fudge if that’s what your expected. They call it a Scottish tablet because it does harden & tastes very sweet. Have a Merry Christmas!
Hi, I have had butter fudge before and was excited to try this recipe. I followed it to a tee but I did not get the darker colour i have seen and when it final set it was like crystallized sugar. Where did I go wrong?
Hi, I’m not sure what the problem could be. This recipe is not your traditional American fudge though that is soft, the Scottish Tablet is hard & crumbly.
I am from a VERY mixed family, but my Papa was mainly Scotch-Irish and he loved butter fudge. When I went to England a long time ago, I had it almost every day because they sell it in all the little retail shops there at the counters. Anyway, every time I bought fudge in the U.S. it just didn’t taste like I remembered it from when I was little and when I lived in England so I Googled for days until I saw they sold something called butter fudge (basically the exact same thing as Scottish Tablet) at Trader Joe’s. I went and picked some up and to my surprise, it was EXACTLY the taste and texture I had been looking for!
Anyway, I always purchase mine online, but it is getting more and more expensive and Trader Joe’s stopped selling it so the prices are going up because it is harder and harder to find so I decided I wanted to try this myself. I can’t wait to make some. I guess I can’t escape my Scottish roots. LOL! Gotta have that tablet!
Hi Paige, I hope you like the recipe! Let us know. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your story, we appreciate it!
Helloooo from Kenya!! I just made this and it came out amazing!!! Thank you!!!
Hello! So glad it turned out for you. Thanks for taking the time to comment, we appreciate it!