Good cooks always have secret ingredients. Darby’s Famous Fudge creator Darby Short is no different. For the past 23 years, Short has been adding her secrets to a fairly common fudge recipe.

She found the recipe while working a market booth for her former employer. Short’s booth was set up next to a company that specializes in premixed fudge recipes. Right then and there, Short decided she was going into the fudge business. Short took the company’s recipe, tweaked it, and Darby’s Famous Fudge was born. The only secret ingredient Short was willing to divulge is love, which was her way of saying that her fudge secrets aren’t going anywhere.

“The name says famous fudge, but we laugh and say it’s almost famous,” Short said.

Short told stories of just how almost famous the fudge had become. There was a lady in Houston who was approached by a stranger in an airport because she was eating Darby’s fudge. There was a large bank in Georgia who gave the fudge away as corporate gifts. There were people stretched across the county that have the fudge shipped to them every year. It seems Darby’s Famous Fudge really is famous.

“We ship this stuff as fast as they can make it,” said 74-year-old Evelyn Dauphin, who works the counter at Darby’s. “Everybody loves it. It’s just so good.”

During the holiday season, the well-known candy flies out the door at a fevered pitch. Short is expanding her current two-kettle fudge setup to a three-kettle just to keep up with the orders.

“During Christmas it gets to be so crazy around here,” she said. “People call us and order fudge almost nonstop.”

Darby’s Famous Fudge comes in a variety of flavors ranging from plain chocolate to Heath Bar crunch. Short offers 10 varieties year round and adds a few special selections during the holidays.

The famous fudge can be found at 427 Main St. in Natchez.