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!
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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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I’ve never played the quiet game. But I have won a few prolific staring contests in my day. I was always really good at those.
These butter fingers look incredible. Right now I’m doing very low sugar so I can’t make them. 🙁
Oh. My. Goodness. These look incredible! I am going to try them tonight after work and will report back with the delicious results 😀
We used to play the quiet game when I was little, except my parents called it “Little Red School House.” It is the same idea, but one person would say “Little Red School House” and we would have to be as quiet as if we were in school. Good times…
Butterfingers hold a special place in my heart!!
Yum! Katie, you ever try using brown rice syrup? I find it an excellent substitute for honey!
I’ve only tried it a few times, and not in these… but another person just left a comment saying she already tried it here and it works! 🙂
I like what I see.
I need that to be in my mouth right now!
I made these .. I subbed in brown rice syrup for the agave and used organic frosted flakes for the corn flakes (i just left out the added sugar) and they came out great! I gave my husband one without telling him what they were and he said ‘these taste like butterfingers’
so.. success.
Thank you so much for trying them already!
I added your substitution into the recipe :).
I want these so badly that I can’t believe I have to wait til the workday is done before I can make them. Thank you so much!!
I can’t wait to make these at my college apartment! I can’t make a lot of your recipes because we don’t have a food processor, but these are perfect! I’m curious though, it says to freeze them, does that mean they need to be eaten cold, or can they be brought to room temp? That’s how I like to eat regular Butterfingers.
They seem to get very sticky, the warmer they get :-?.
Then I will just eat them cold 🙂
maybe you could use the Butterfingers part as a filling for Reese Cups so you can have them at room temp. That way you dont have to worry about them sticking to your fingers.
It’s…so beautiful…
May I suggest soy nut butter for those allergic to peanut butter… it’s the closest texture and taste to peanut butter but without the puffy face! 🙂
Sunbutter is also a really good substitute. Amazing how similar it is to pb, especially in a candy such as this. My daughter has a peanut and tree nut allergy and we use sunbutter all the time! 🙂
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Katie – you are my ultimate dessert hero. =) I tried your sugar cookie shake recipe twice this week. Deeeeee-lish!
OMG Yum! I love butterfingers 🙂
THANK YOU KATIE!!!!! I’ve been anxiously awaiting this recipe. Butterfingers were my favorite candy as a child, my Grandpa would always buy me those boxes of little butterfingers (movie style) whenever I spent the night or just for no reason at all. He was my favorite too, spoiled me rotten!
Fast forward 20 years and I have a severe corn allergy, epi pen and all. Can’t even touch corn tortillas without a reaction, if I ingest corn of any type I’m sick or going into anaphylactic shock. Never thought I’d get to eat a butterfinger again, and to think I will on my vegan diet to boot. I’m ecstatic, cannot thank you enough!!!
I’ve never tried a butterfinger before but these look amazing and decadent! I have so many recipe’s I wanna give a go – but I will for sure add these to the list 😀 😉
You are brilliant (as always)! Butterfingers are one of my top favorite chocolate bars right next to Reese’s PB Cups of course.