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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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
Have you made this recipe?
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Sarah says
Best thing I’ve ever eaten. No need to say more.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Shannon M. says
These are the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten!! Growing up, Butterfingers were my favorite candy. I can no longer eat dairy so I found your website (which has been amazing)!! These taste exactly like Butterfingers …only better! Thank you for your website and for sharing my most favorite recipe of all time!!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Karen says
I have been looking at this recipe for years! But I never have the cereal on hand. So, today I bought some cornflakes at whole foods. Just for this recipe. Yum yum yum! Thanks for the recipe! I used to love butterfingers.
Karen says
I have been looking at this recipe for years! But I never have the cereal on hand. So, today I bought some cornflakes at whole foods. Just for this recipe. Yum yum yum! Thanks for the recipe! The bars are delicious. I used to love butterfingers.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you for trying them 🙂
Jen says
This is an awesome recipe! I couldn’t find any wheat free sugar free flake cereal at my market , so I went online and ordered spelt flake cereal from Amazon. They turned out awesome. Everyone agrees. Oh and did I mention it was super easy! Thx Katie!! 😊
Molly says
These are my Halloween tradition! So delicious! I find that if you crush up the cereal very well BEFORE putting it in the peanut butter mixture, they stick together better.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Laine Greenhouse says
Nice!
Liz says
Made these this morning and they turned out so well! Like SO incredibly delicious you won’t believe it
Lakita says
I’ve made these before & they were perfect. This time they crumbled into sand consistency when I tried to cut them into bars. They wont hold a shape. What did I do wrong? Can I fix them at this stage? (They are still delish as a crumble topping on ice cream or other dessert but i’d prefer bars for my application.)
CCK Media Team says
Hi Lakita, if they worked well the first time for you, did you change anything for the second time?
Lakita says
Thank you for the reply. I don’t think so. Only possibly different brands of the same ingredients.
Sarah says
These are D-lish!!!
Ava says
Really good 👍 I liked it.
Beth Borchers says
OHMY!!!! You just blew my mind! I know you said they taste just like Butterfingers but a lot of people say a lot of things that aren’t necessarily true… They ARE just like Butterfingers, or so close and so good the small difference doesn’t matter.
Thanks… I’ll be sharing this on my YouTube channel… Cooking Lessons for my Daughter.
Jen says
These are amazing! Even if you never had a butterfinger. I used spelt flakes I bought from Amazon. I couldn’t find any flakes at the grocery store without sugar. Spelt flakes are very crunchy/hard so it worked for me. Ate the whole pan myself. 😏 Made them many times! I do not have a food processor. I’ve done the blender – it’s not as easy, I’m sure – but it’s all I have and these were worth it. I have also done it by hand. Hard, but again, so yummy!