Thick & Rich 5-Ingredient Hot Fudge Sauce

This thick and rich hot fudge sauce recipe is made with just 5 simple ingredients! Sweetened condensed milk makes it ultra creamy, and a shot of brewed coffee amplifies the deep chocolate flavor.

This post has been sponsored by The Folger Coffee Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Growing up, my parents were not coffee drinkers -- diet cola was their choice for a morning caffeine fix. But my grandparents were a different story...

I can vividly remember waking up to the smell of freshly brewed Folgers coffee on weekends spent with them. My grandma would fix me toaster waffles with extra butter and syrup, and I'd sit quietly eating, as my grandfather sipped his black coffee while doing the daily newspaper crossword puzzle.

Fast forward more years than I'd care to admit and coffee is now part of MY daily morning routine. So when I spied these cool vintage-style Folgers Limited Edition Collector's Cans at Target, I couldn't help but take one home with me. And when I peeled the vacuum-sealed foil off the top? I was instantly transported to those early mornings of my childhood with on whiff.

I love the ritual of making my morning coffee -- it's my time to relax and start the day off in a positive manner. Lately I've been using the pour over method to prepare my morning cup, and it's such a simple reminder to slow down and enjoy the little things each day.

I have a short window between getting my middle schoolers and high schooler out the door and waking my elementary schoolers, and this short break is my time.

Two heaping tablespoons of coffee, eight ounces of hot water poured over the top, a drip of cream, a little sucanat, a dash of cinnamon, sip and enjoy. No crossword puzzles for me, though -- just a good book on my Kindle and I'm happy!

I imagine that both my grandparents and I started drinking coffee for the same reason -- that little jolt of caffeine that helps you get moving in the morning. Yeah, I really needed that when I was working third shift through college...

What I don't know is if they ever really grew to love the taste of it as I have. I enjoy using its bold flavor in cooking, as with these Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins and this coffee marinade for steaks. (Incidentally, coffee grounds are also amazing for removing the smell of burnt popcorn from your microwave.)

But one of my very favorite pairings with coffee is chocolate -- as in this hot fudge sauce recipe I'm about to share.

Coffee just naturally enhances the flavor of chocolate and is an important addition to this thick and rich hot fudge sauce that boasts just five simple ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, high-quality bittersweet chocolate chips, salted butter, pure vanilla extra and a shot of strong brewed Folgers coffee.

And if you're not a coffee fan? Don't worry about it. This hot fudge doesn't taste overtly of coffee -- it just serves to temper some of the sweetness and gives great depth of flavor.

Simply place all of the ingredients, except the vanilla extract, in a double boiler, and in just five minutes, you have the easiest, most delicious hot fudge sauce! Whisk in the vanilla extract, and it's ready to serve over vanilla bean ice cream and more. Or to just eat with a spoon, as my kids were doing every time I turned my back...

No worries if you don't own a double boiler -- I prefer to keep my kitchen gadgets to a minimum, so I don't either. Instead, I turn to this simple double boiler hack time and time again.

This recipe does make a rather large amount of hot fudge sauce, a total of two cups. You could easily halve the recipe with excellent results, or you can store the extra in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Simply press a piece of plastic wrap down on the surface of the hot fudge to prevent a skin from forming. It reheats well using the same double boiler method as when prepared.