This nutty, “buttery” sweet candy that flakes yet is chewy at the same time is coated with chocolate, and will remind you of the famous “Butterfinger” candy bar. “This,” my daughter informed me, “is really good.”. I agree, and have had a hard time avoiding eating them all. These are the perfect special occasion treat for my family this upcoming Halloween.
Butterfingers were my favorite candy bar growing up. I loved getting Dairy Queen Blizzards full of Butterfinger crumbles. But when I started becoming more focused on eating well during High School, I mostly avoided all candy. And, really, with good reason. Have you looked at the ingredients lately? I’d list them for you, but the GMO, hydrogenated-oil, corn syrup, and preservative-laced list might cause distress. And I wouldn’t want to do that.
But the funny thing is that I never considered that making homemade versions was even possible! I was convinced that the reason they were “good” was because of those unsavory ingredients. Imagine my surprise to find that it is quite possible to make not only a homemade version, but also one using natural ingredients.
I made mine small candy bars (the following recipe makes 24), as these are still plump with sweetener, even though naturally sweetened. Keeping them small helps with portion control, but you can also make 12 medium-sized candy bars.
I looked up a bunch of different recipes, and decided to base my own experiments on a recipe that had a higher ratio of peanut butter, as I felt without the peanut butter to balance out all of the sugar, we were going to get sugar-induced comas. These are lovely, just slightly more chewy then the original Butterfinger, but with that crumbly texture.
I used freshly ground peanut butter from my local health store. I think that jarred, unsweetened, would work too, but I wanted to mention what I used.
I do recommend a candy thermometer for this recipe, however mine hasn’t been working right. So I did the whole method of testing the mixture in ice water while it was cooking until it got to the hard candy stage. You can learn how to do that here. This method allows you to make it without a thermometer.
To make these gluten-and dairy-free, just make sure you use appropriate chocolate and vanilla extract.
All-Natural Nutterbutter Candy Bars
1 cup of peanut butter (unsweetened, smooth)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking soda
Dash of unrefined salt (if using unsalted peanut butter)
1/3 cup of honey or coconut sugar syrup
1/3 cup of water
1 cup of whole cane sugar, coconut sugar, or maple sugar
2 cups of bittersweet chocolate
1.Line an 8 by 8inch pan with parchment paper, leaving plenty of extra to fold up the sides of the pan.
2.In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, vanilla and baking soda
3.In a small pot, combine the honey, water and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Then stop stirring. Using a candy thermometer, bring the mixture to the hard ball candy stage. (250 to 266F). You may need to lower heat slightly to keep mixture form boiling over. Watch carefully and keep children out of the kitchen while you prepare this.
4. Take immediately off the heat, and then carefully pour in the peanut butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon gently until completely combined.
5. Spread out in the prepared pan. Let sit 2 minutes.
6.Using a sharp knife, press down to cut the mixture into small bar shapes. (I divide it in half, then divide each half into three, and then cut down the middle of it the other way, and then cut each half in half again….if that makes any sense to you). You should be able to get 12 smallish regular size candy bars, or 24 mini sized. If it is sticking a lot, oil knife. Press down, then lift knife, and press down again. Don’t drag knife through candy.
7. Allow mixture to cool for 2 hours, or until it is completely cooled.
8. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (stir, and don’t allow mixture to burn) and remove from heat. If very thick and hard to work with, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or butter and stir in (this will make it easier to coat the candy, but also make the chocolate softer and will melt in your hands faster). I broke all of the rules in coating candy, and simply dropped 4 pieces in at a time, gave them a few turns, removed from the bowl, and gently shook pieces to remove excess chocolate. Place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet.
9. Allow to completely cool (will take about 1 hour in the freezer). And enjoy!
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You are so cute! I love the name of them.
Ahhh… Dairy Queen Butterfinger Blizzards… you and I were on the same page. I still like them, but perhaps indulge only once a year. Too many ickies in them. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Candy thermometers frighten me, however. I do have one, still in its package, sitting on my countertop, mocking me. I’m sure they’re not nearly as difficult to use as I imagine.
hah, I don’t know if my thermometer is mocking me, but it IS still in the package. lol, gonna have to bust it out for this recipe. =0)
It always scared me too. But a recipe like this is actually easy! I am rather thinking of using this candy recipe to make my own “Blizzard”. 😉
It always scared me too. But a recipe like this is actually easy! I am rather thinking of using this candy recipe to make my own “Blizzard”. 😉
thank you!!!!! I always hated the idea of the candy corn butterfingers, too many chemicals. This I can make and be glad my kids are enjoying it. =0)
These look amazing! We absolutely LOVE your peanut butter cups, so we will look forward to trying this one!
Funny, never thought about being scared of usin a candy thermometer. It is so much easier than using the “cold water testing” method (that I used for years as a young person). Use it once and you will be sold on it! This does sound like a fun treat. My husband loves dark chocolate and peanut butter is another favorite – one of the major food groups right?:), chuckle, chuckle.
OH this sounds wonderful especially for a treat after diving practice! I have a very hungry teenager on my hands most nights!! Thank you so very much for all the healthy recipes you offer. We are slowly but surely changing the way we eat. Its been a challenge because not all of my family has been ready to embrace it. So by slowly replacing recipes they love with healthier versions we are starting to make some progress plus I discovered they love Panera bread which has been so easy to adapt to homemade versions.
Once again thank you!
ahh, I have found a soul mate.
Has anyone tried making these with almond butter or sunflower seed butter?
Tina,
I see no reason why they wouldn’t work! If you try it, let us know how it turns out. 🙂
Oh, these look good! I have been making various chocolates during the holidays for quite a few years now. It will be fun to add something new and different and HEALTHY to the list. 🙂
I am so so so happy! Thank you!
Hi Kimi- I’d like to make bittersweet chocolate from my cocoa powder. Do you by chance know how much sugar and butter or coconut oil I should use to make it bittersweet? What kind of bittersweet chocolate did you use? 2 cups seems like a lot, but I know you need enough to cover all of the candy. Thanks!
Erin,
2 cups was actually just enough to cover them all (but barely). I have a recipe for making your own chocolate here. However, you should note that this won’t harden the same, but is best when kept very cold. http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/02/homemade-chocolate-or-carob-chips-2.html
thanks kimi- should i decrease the coconut oil by a bit? that should help, right? did you purchase yours in a bar form or were they chips?
I made these this weekend. It had never occured to me to attempt a candy bar for my son who is GF/CF/SF. He was thrilled with the results. (And I was thrilled that they were easy!!!)
Sounds yummy. I would blend chunks in with frozen bananas in the blender or vanilla yogurt ice cream for the blizzard effect.
Hi,
I just made a batch of the peanut butter part and it came out really hard. Like break your fillings kind of hard and chewy. Any idea of what might have gone wrong? Or what I can do differently? I followed your directions to the word! They are not crumbly or flaky at all!
Thanks!
Britt
Britt, not all candy thermometers, or meat or dairy thermometers are accurate. You may need to calibrate your candy thermometer by checking it against a thermometer you trust. It could be that yours reads a little low.
Oh, I loved these, they tasted way too good. I’m going to make another batch, made the last batch for Halloween. I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate and so used chocolate chips, the dark ones. Worked out just fine, way too fine. Not a treat that I can keep around too often or I’ll be getting too many “healthy” fats.
Hi Kim, I just found your site, looks great, and I have most of the ingredients. Just wondering when you say ‘1 cup of whole cane sugar, coconut sugar, or maple sugar’ can we use regular sugar.
Cane sugar is regular sugar. Just read the ingredients to make sure it is pure cane sugar and not made from sugar beets.