December of 2000 was the first time I tasted the famous "Yost Peanut Butter Fudge."
The second that creamy texture hit my taste buds, I knew I could not let this special man, the maker of this soul-soothing delight, too far out of my sight. Eighteen months later, I was lucky enough to marry that sage of sweets and I could rest easy that I would (happily ever after) enjoy the sweet, smooth taste of that Yost Peanut Butter Fudge.
Fast-forward a couple of years to a Christmas cookie exchange I was invited to by our Pastor's wife. Rather than make and bring the traditional Snickerdoodles or Coconut Macaroons, we made two extra batches (about 14 pounds) so I could bring the peanut butter fudge as my exchange-goodie. What followed was a surprising level of praise and passionate requests for more.
The following year, we made a little more and the circle of faithful fudge followers grew .... and grew.... and grew. But the real exponential growth in our annual fudge making kicked off in 2009/2010 when our fudge making more than doubled and year after year just kept on growing. In 2014, we decided to expand our culinary creativity and began including some special Limited Edition (L.E.) flavors in our Christmas Fudge gift bags. This increased our annual fudge-making yield even more. In 2016, we began experimenting to create new fudge flavors or "Beta" flavors. Some of those Beta Flavors (B.F.) may graduate to L.E. flavors (and some were quickly demoted to the trashcan). In 2018, we promoted a couple of our L.E. flavors to a new category - Chocolate Essentials (C.E.) - which we made in larger quantities so more people could enjoy them.  |
| every ingredient, mixed by hand |
Fast-forward a couple of years to a Christmas cookie exchange I was invited to by our Pastor's wife. Rather than make and bring the traditional Snickerdoodles or Coconut Macaroons, we made two extra batches (about 14 pounds) so I could bring the peanut butter fudge as my exchange-goodie. What followed was a surprising level of praise and passionate requests for more.
Around 2009, we decided to start tracking our annual yield. Here are the running totals ....
2009 -- 28 lbs
2010 -- 64 lbs
2011 -- 84 lbs
2012 -- 70 lbs
2013 -- 110 lbs
2014 -- 108 lbs (91 lbs P.B.,17 lbs L.E.)
2015 -- 171 lbs (146 lbs P.B., 25 lbs L.E.)
2016 -- 234 lbs (184 P.B., 42 lbs L.E., 8 lbs B.F.)
2017 -- 230 lbs (180 P.B., 50 lbs L.E., 12 lbs B.F.)
2018 -- 321 lbs (184 P.B., 62 lbs C.E., 33 lbs L.E., 42 lbs B.F.)
2019 -- 374 lbs (223 P.B., 100 lbs C.E., 27 lbs L.E., 24 lbs B.F.)
2010 -- 64 lbs
2011 -- 84 lbs
2012 -- 70 lbs
2013 -- 110 lbs
2014 -- 108 lbs (91 lbs P.B.,17 lbs L.E.)
2015 -- 171 lbs (146 lbs P.B., 25 lbs L.E.)
2016 -- 234 lbs (184 P.B., 42 lbs L.E., 8 lbs B.F.)
2017 -- 230 lbs (180 P.B., 50 lbs L.E., 12 lbs B.F.)
2018 -- 321 lbs (184 P.B., 62 lbs C.E., 33 lbs L.E., 42 lbs B.F.)
2019 -- 374 lbs (223 P.B., 100 lbs C.E., 27 lbs L.E., 24 lbs B.F.)
2020 -- 372 lbs (198 P.B., 134 lbs C.E., 18 lbs L.E., 22 lbs B.F.)
2021 -- 457 lbs (208 P.B., 104 lbs C.E., 77 lbs L.E., 68 lbs B.F.)
2022 -- 325 lbs (155 P.B., 73 lbs C.E., 70 lbs L.E., 27 lbs B.F.)
Over the years, many have asked us if we have considered selling our fudge but, for us, that was never the point. We make it because it makes us happy. We give it away because it makes others happy. To sell it would take some of the joy out of it somehow. We do joke from time to time that our annual Yost Fudge give-away is a secret "retirement plan" -- to get everyone hooked on it now so when we retire from our professional careers, we can start a small fudge shop and open the doors with a built-in customer base of HolyYost Fudge Fans. When the year 2030 rolls around, I guess we'll find if there was any truth to that jest.
Until then, for as long as we can afford to, we will continue to make and give away this heavenly creation - Holy Yost Fudge.
