One Of Dolly Parton's Most Beloved Foods Was This Homemade Old-Fashioned Candy

Dolly Parton rose to fame as a country music sensation-turned-cinema star known for her hospitality, campy style, and self-named amusement park — but her connection to food is undeniable. She was known for bringing her favorite Southern comfort dishes to the sets of films she worked on to share with the cast and crew. Among the best known were huge pots of her mother's own chicken and dumplings recipe and, of course, batches of peanut butter fudge to sate her notorious sweet tooth. 

Dolly's peanut butter fudge is known for being incredibly rich and creamy with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency. Rather than the dense thickness sometimes associated with fudge, her version is light thanks to the use of marshmallow cream, with a hint of vanilla and an intense peanut flavor. It's sweet without being cloying, incredibly satisfying, and addictive — there's a reason her co-stars clamored to get some.

Dolly Parton's favorite foods inspired the dining options in Dollywood when it opened in 1986. Instead of typical amusement park fare, Parton wanted places serving Southern classics, (including her famous peanut butter fudge, which is sold at Sweet Shoppe Candy Kitchen.) Dollywood's food even inspired a spiral-bound cookbook put together by Dollywood staff and employees that features many of Dolly's own recipes, including a version of peanut butter fudge, titled "Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking." There's also a dupe recipe for the peanut butter fudge in "The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook."

If you're someone who loves the flavor of peanut butter and the creamy texture of fudge, Dolly's peanut butter fudge might be something you want to try. The recipe for Parton's famous peanut butter fudge calls for a ¾ stick of butter, three cups of sugar, a 5 and ⅓ ounce can of evaporated milk, a 10-ounce container of marshmallow cream, a cup of crunchy peanut butter, and a teaspoon of vanilla. The first three ingredients are brought to a boil for five minutes; the last three are then stirred in and combined before the mixture is left to cool in a cake pan. There are many variations and ways to make fudge with different ingredients, including our own old-fashioned peanut butter fudge recipe.

Peanut butter fudge wasn't the only recipe the star was known for. As one of 12 children in her family, everyone was involved in making mealtime happen, and she learned her favorite recipes from her mother, Avie Lee Parton. It was in her family's humble kitchen that she learned to make the Southern comfort foods that were just as iconic as Dolly herself, including biscuits and gravy, meatloaf, and her easy cornbread recipe. Parton went on to celebrate her love of cooking by collaborating with Duncan Hines on a range of baking mixes, creating a line of frozen dinners, and writing two cookbooks, but her peanut butter fudge is no doubt a well-known part of her culinary legacy.