Crispety, crunchety, deliciously peanut buttery homemade healthy Butterfingers!
Healthy candy bars that defy all logic
As if by magic, the homemade Butterfingers have that exact same toffee-like crunch of store-bought peanut butter Butterfinger bars!
Yet these are whole-grain, high in iron, vegan friendly, and completely free of high-fructose corn syrup. It’s one of those recipes you really have to try to believe.
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Homemade vegan Butterfingers
The inspiration for these healthy butterfingers came from a dollar-bin cookbook that I saw at the fabric store a few weeks back.
The book recipe, which yielded an 8×8 pan just like mine, called for a full 1 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of corn syrup, and 1/3 cup of shortening!
Yes, 3/4 cup of corn syrup in addition to the cup of sugar…
It was basically screaming for a healthy makeover!
Leftover Chocolate? Make Chocolate Truffles
Healthy Butterfinger recipe video
Screaming so loudly that I had to get to work on the challenge as soon as I got home.
Luckily, this is one of those recipes that turned out perfectly on the first try – they really do taste like actual Butterfinger candy bars!
If you’re looking for a healthy or vegan dessert that will impress even the most skeptical or pickiest of eaters, these healthy Butterfingers are definitely the recipe to try on all your friends.
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In the years since I first posted them here on the blog, it’s become one of the site’s most popular recipes.
Readers often write in to tell me that even their health-food-hating dads, moms, brothers, sisters, girlfriends, or boyfriends love the bars too!
Healthy Butterfingers
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave (For keto, try these Keto Candy Bars)
- 1 tbsp regular or blackstrap molasses – Or omit and increase agave to 1/3 cup
- 3 1/2 tbsp sugar, unrefined if desired, or additional maple syrup
- 1 cup peanut butter or allergy-friendly sub
- 1 1/2 cups bran flakes or corn flakes, or another flake cereal (56g)
- 1/8 tsp salt, plus a little extra if using unsalted pb
- optional topping: 2/3 cup chocolate chips or 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil mixed with 1/4 cup cocoa powder and vanilla stevia drops or liquid sweetener to taste
Instructions
- Notes: Honey works, but it’s not for strict vegans and will also add a slight honey flavor. Corn syrup will also work, and commenters have said brown rice syrup works as well. If subbing out the molasses, the bars will taste less authentic but still delicious. Almond butter or Sunbutter work, or use peanut butter for the flavor that most closely resembles real Butterfingers.Homemade Butterfingers Recipe: Combine first three ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil on medium heat. Boil about a minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Add the peanut butter and salt, and stir until it makes a paste. Add the cereal and stir very well to coat, partially crushing the cereal flakes as you stir. Make sure the flakes are very evenly coated. Press into an 8×8 pan—either lined with wax or parchment paper, or greased very well—and freeze until completely hardened. (Cut into bars while only somewhat frozen, or thaw the block a little before cutting.) If you wish to cover in chocolate (they’re good even without it), you can cover them at any time—either pre-cutting or post-cutting. Simply melt the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth, or mix the coconut oil with the sweetener and cocoa. Then spread over the bars with a spatula and re-freeze to harden. Store in the freezer for optimum “snap.”View Nutrition Facts
Notes
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yummy
We don’t have Butterfingers here in the UK but these look yummy!
This is the best belated birthday present I could have received 🙂 I was just at TCBY last night and drooled over the butterfinger topping but passed because of how high calorie it is. I think I’ll need to make up some of this and sprinkle it on my Arctic Zero!
Yay!!! I am so excited to try these, thank you!! 😀
I’ve been looking forward to this make-over. I’m sure I’d go the honey route and I bet it will be delicious. Can’t wait to try!
they look insane! yum!
Mmm, I’ve been waiting for you to post this recipe! As someone said above, we can’t easily buy Butterfingers in the UK so I’ve only ever had them twice…but they are still my favourite chocolate bar!! The only other recipes I’ve seen for them contain candy corn which we also can’t get (& I don’t think are vegetarian anyway?) so I’m super excited to make these asap…thanks Katie! 😀
Thanks! These look amazing. I was just wondering can Snickers be simplified, my hubby is always challenging me to make healthy versions and lately he brought up Snickers and Mars to challenge me. Unfortunately, I am not very good with the creative part:) Katie, help please:)
We slit open pitted dates and stuff them with crunchy peanut butter and/or nutella and then store them in the fridge or freezer and I call them my healthy mini Snickers bars. 🙂
try the fudge babies. the dates taste like caramel!
https://lett-trim.today/2009/10/13/make-these-now/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thank you ladies. You have some great ideas. I will try these very soon:)
Check out thisrawsomeveganlife.com ‘s amazing snickers bars 🙂 Even traditional candy bar lovers were pleased.
And all my dreams just came true. Butterfingers are (and always have been) my favorite.
That doesn’t mean my thighs or my belly or my bottom likes it.
I think the problem is that those areas also love it and don’t give it up without a fight. lol
I am TERRIBLE at the quite game, lol. Good thing my sister was worse 😉
This recipe is just in time for Halloween, when I’m craving all that candy!
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Are these Keto? Thx:)
These would not be keto because sugar, maple syrup, molasses, and bran flakes are unfortunately not keto. But here are some of Katie’s recipes that can be keto: https://lett-trim.today/2018/03/08/keto-dessert-recipes-vegan/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Oh, Katie. This looks simply amazing! Cannot wait to try these!! Thank you!!!
We always played the quiet game. I was horrible. My Dad used to offer whoever won a dollar, I’d try for a few seconds and then say “I don’t want your dollar.”
These look great!!!
And I always lost the “Quiet Game”. I talk way too much!!!
These look so good, and WAY healthier than regular butter fingers! I’ll have to try them!
I RULE at the quiet game. I kicked butt while playing it with the flower girl at my friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Entertained the kid, and avoided awkward mingling!