• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Healthy by 40

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Posts & Recipe Index
  • Health & Cooking Tips
    • Digestive Health Info & Tips
      • The IBS Lowdown
      • The Word on GERD (& Acid Reflux / Heartburn)
      • The IBS & GERD Connection
      • Shopping w/Dietary Restrictions
      • Low FODMAP Food Plan
      • What a Symptom-Free Day Looks Like
    • Baking/Cooking Tips
      • Cheesecake Tips
      • Truffle Making/Dipping Tips
      • Tips for Dessert Sauce Drizzling
      • Squash Prep & Cooking Tutorials w/Photos
        • How to Peel, Cut & Cook Whole Butternut Squash (w/Photo Guide)
        • How to Peel, Cut & Cook Whole Kabocha Squash aka Japanese Pumpkin (w/Photo Guide)
        • How to Prep Eggplant to be Roasted & Stuffed (w/Photo Guide)

Butter Heath Fudge

December 4, 2016

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

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.

**NOTE: This recipe is NOT Low FODMAP and is NOT approved for IBS and/or GERD/Acid Reflux/Heartburn**
Butter Heath Fudge
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.

Filed Under: Desserts, Fudge, Holiday Sweets, Holidays, Recipe, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Countdown to Thanksgiving! (Thanksgiving Recipe Index)
Next Post: Gluten-Free Red Wine Fudge Brownies »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

38 yr old wife and dog mom trying to get healthy before hitting the big 4-0! Read More →

Follow the Journey:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Digestive Health:

  • The IBS Lowdown
  • The Word on GERD (& Acid Reflux / Heartburn)
  • The IBS & GERD Connection
  • Shopping w/Dietary Restrictions
  • Low FODMAP Food Plan
  • What a Symptom-Free Day Looks Like

Browse the Archives:

Go to category

Footer

Follow the Journey:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Stay on Track:

Harvest Tuna Salad
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Potatoes
Toasted Quinoa w/Raisins & Pine Nuts

Cheat Day:

Gluten-Free Red Wine Fudge Brownies
Dark Chocolate Red Wine Brownies
countdown to the big 4-0!April 21, 2022
18 months to go.
All images and recipes © Healthy by 40 / Meredith Gandelman 2019