Butter Heath Fudge

When I think back to Christmases growing up, one of the first things that comes to mind is this buttery melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness that it Butter Heath Fudge. One of my mom’s friends made this recipe (and still does) every Christmas, and when we went to her house I made sure to be hungry so I could eat as much as possible to hold me over until the next year.

That’s part of what makes the best holiday recipes so great, isn’t it? Knowing you only have them once a year can seem torturous when you get a mid-year craving, but the wait is part of what makes them so great! Anticipation is everything sometimes, it just doesn’t always feel so great when you’re going through the waiting part.

The keys to making this fudge are as follows:

1. Use a high quality heavy-bottomed pan, not a lightweight pan.
2. Use a reliable, calibrated thermometer. Test your thermometer by sticking it in water that is at a full, rolling boil, leave it in for 30 seconds and check what temperature it reads. It should be 212 degrees F. If it’s not, either calibrate it or if it’s only off by a degree or two make the mental adjustments for what temperature it needs to read for your recipe (if you’re supposed to get your recipe up to 238 degrees and your thermometer reads 211 degrees F in the boiling water, then you’d need to cook your recipe until your thermometer reads 237 degrees). The importance of the thermometer’s reliability cannot be overstated when it comes to making candy. One degree can make all the difference in whether your candy works or not.
3. For this recipe especially, DO NOT try and be creative or make substitutions for ingredients and do not double the recipe. I learned the hard way that does not go well. I tried using pecans instead of walnuts and tried putting it in a different kind of pan for cooling, and it never worked right. As soon as I made it EXACTLY as instructed, it worked.

If you follow the above advice and make the recipe 100% in accordance with the ingredients, quantities and instructions listed in the recipe below, this butter heath fudge will work beautifully and you’ll have the most glorious, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth fudge you’ve ever tasted.

Print Recipe

4 from 3 votes

Butter Heath Fudge

This smooth, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth butter heath fudge is a holiday classic for my family that I hope will be for you and yours as well.

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 36 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2+1/2 cups walnuts (finely chopped)
• 6 whole Hershey's chocolate bars (regular-sized bars)

Instructions

• Before starting, make sure you have a 9” x 13” or 10” x 15” baking sheet ready on the counter (use one that has a completely flat bottom and high sides), all your chocolate bars are unwrapped and ready to go and you have your finely chopped nuts ready and portioned out (2 cups will go into the mixture after it cooks, the remaining 1/2 cup will go over top of the chocolate at the end).
• Place butter, water, corn syrup and sugar in a large pot/dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the mixture starts boiling, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking while stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 260 degrees F on a properly calibrated candy thermometer.
• Once the mixture reaches 260 degrees F, remove pan from heat, immediately stir in 2 cups of the chopped walnuts and pour the mixture out onto the baking sheet. Immediately place the chocolate bars down on top of the mixture (they won’t cover the top – it’s fine, just place them down anywhere on top without overlapping) then loosely cover the pan with foil for 1-2 minutes, until the chocolate melts.
• Once the chocolate has melted, spread it out evenly over top of the heath mixture using a spatula or butter knife, then top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.
• Allow mixture to cool completely at room temperature (do NOT stick in refrigerator or freezer, or else the chocolate will separate from the heath mixture. Also, it will break apart when you cut it if it’s been chilled). Once cooled, cut into pieces and store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Notes

*Recipe takes 30 minutes to cook, then takes about an hour and a half to two hours to cool enough to where the chocolate isn't liquid and you can cut it.*

NOTE: This recipe is NOT guaranteed to work unless you follow it exactly - exact same ingredients, quantities of ingredients, instruments used and pan used.

The following are all keys to success for this recipe:

1. Use a high quality heavy-bottomed pan, NOT a lightweight pan.
2. Use a reliable, calibrated thermometer. Test your thermometer by sticking it in water that is at a full, rolling boil, leave it in for 30 seconds and check what temperature it reads. It should be 212 degrees F. If it's not, either calibrate it or if it's only off by a degree or two make the mental adjustments for what temperature it needs to read for your recipe (if you're supposed to get your recipe up to 238 degrees and your thermometer reads 211 degrees F in the boiling water, then you'd need to cook your recipe until your thermometer reads 237 degrees). The importance of the thermometer's reliability cannot be overstated when it comes to making candy. One degree can make all the difference in whether your candy works or not.
3. For this recipe especially, DO NOT try and be creative or make substitutions for ingredients and do not double the recipe. I learned the hard way that does not go well. I tried using pecans instead of walnuts and tried putting it in a different kind of pan for cooling, and it never worked right. As soon as I made it EXACTLY as instructed, it worked.