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My maple walnut fudge tastes like maple from the very first bite. It’s rich, sweet and creamy with crunchy walnuts, and it smells like warm maple the second you slice into it. Cut it into little squares for your holiday dessert tray.

Creamy maple walnut fudge topped with chopped walnuts.

Maple walnut fudge is a fall-through-Christmas recipe at my house. It’s one of those easy homemade candies I love having around for cookie exchanges, parties and gift boxes, because it looks a lot more special than the work that goes into it.

I get all of the maple flavor in this fudge from maple extract, and I use enough of it that you can’t miss it. All that extract also makes it a little darker than you might expect from a white chocolate fudge, and I’ll take a darker square that tastes like maple every time.

If you want that same walnut crunch in chocolate, my chocolate walnut fudge is the one to make next.

TESTED AND PERFECTED

How I Make This Whole Pan of Fudge in One Bowl

I do all of the melting for this fudge in one bowl in the microwave, so there’s no candy thermometer and I’m never standing at the stove stirring a pot. The maple extract and walnuts go right into that same bowl, the pan goes in the fridge, and it’s one and done. I’ve made it this way multiple times, and it has set up fine.

Read This First

Go easy on the microwave with this fudge, because the white chocolate stays smooth when you melt it a little at a time. After the first minute, I heat it in short bursts and give it a good stir in between every one.
Stop heating while there are still a few unmelted pieces in the bowl, then keep stirring. Those last bits melt on their own as you stir.
Have the butter at room temperature before it goes in the bowl. Cold butter takes a long time to melt, and then it won’t mix into the white chocolate the way it should. Set it out ahead of time so it’s soft when you’re ready to start.

The Ingredients Worth Getting Right

White chocolate bars: Buy white chocolate bars and chop them yourself instead of using white chocolate chips. Bars are so much better for melting, and chips affect the finished texture and can mess up the whole pan. I use Lindt, and the 4-ounce bars from Ghirardelli or Baker’s work fine too.
Sweetened condensed milk: Make sure you grab sweetened condensed milk and not evaporated milk. They’re two different ingredients and people mix them up all the time, so double-check the can before you open it.
Maple extract: This fudge needs maple extract, not maple syrup, because it would never set with syrup. Look for a good-quality brand in the baking aisle near the vanilla, or order it online if your store doesn’t carry it. If you’d like a milder maple flavor and a lighter color, start with 1 teaspoon.
Walnuts: Chopped walnuts give every square a nutty flavor and a little crunch against the smooth fudge. Pecans are an easy swap if that’s what your family likes better, and it’s still a maple nut fudge either way.

Two stacked maple walnut fudge squares with walnuts.

How to Make Maple Walnut Fudge

Step 1: Line the Pan Line a straight-sided pan with parchment paper, leaving plenty hanging over the sides. The straight sides give you squares with straight edges, and the overhang is how you lift the whole slab out later.

Step 2: Melt Everything in One Bowl Add the chopped white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and cubed butter to a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir, then keep going in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until the chocolate is almost melted and you can stir it smooth. Creamy maple fudge mixture in a glass bowl.

Step 3: Stir in the Maple and Walnuts Stir in the maple extract and 1 cup of the walnuts, saving the rest for the top. Then spread the fudge into the pan in an even layer. Maple walnut fudge mixture poured into a lined pan.

Step 4: Top and Press Sprinkle the remaining half cup of walnuts over the top and press them gently into the fudge so they stay put when you slice it. Maple walnut fudge topped with chopped walnuts in a pan.

Step 5: Chill, Lift and Cut Refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours until firm, then lift the slab out by the parchment and slice into 64 one-inch pieces. Maple walnut fudge being cut into squares.

How to Tell It’s Set and Cut Clean Squares

I chill this fudge for 4 hours before I slice it. At 3 hours it looks firm, but the squares are still a little tacky when you pull them apart, and by 4 hours they come apart clean. How long yours takes depends on how cold your fridge is, so if the squares still feel tacky, give the pan more time.

Lift the slab out by the parchment, then cut it into 1-inch squares, 8 rows by 8 rows. It’s rich enough that you really only need a small piece, which is why I cut it this small. After a long chill, let the squares sit out for a few minutes so they soften slightly before you serve them.

Maple walnut fudge squares topped with chopped walnuts.

Storing, Freezing and Packing It Up

Keep maple walnut fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the fridge for up to 1 month. I put a sheet of parchment paper between the layers so the squares don’t stick together, especially at room temperature. The parchment does the same job when you pack the squares into treat boxes and holiday tins.

To freeze it, cut the fudge into squares first so you can pull out only as many as you need. Layer the squares with parchment in a freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw them in the fridge.

For a full holiday tin, mix these squares in with a few more from my no bake fudge recipes.

Maple walnut fudge pieces arranged on a baking sheet.

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