The Tired Woman's Guide to Bake Sales

If you don't have a can or two of sweetened condensed milk knocking around your cupboard, stock up: The $2.99 ingredient, which can last for years unopened without refrigeration, is a dessert maker's secret weapon. It's indispensable in key lime pie and caramel candies, but less well known is its ability to transform chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and vanilla into fudge. This recipe has myriad variations, like walnut-raisin and white chocolate–cranberry.