Nobody’s gonna lay a finger on my Butterfinger. Remember that old slogan?
Well there’s truth to it with these because I wanted to hoard them.
I always loved Butterfingers as a kid and they’re still a gas station favorite treat for me. However, I’ve never made a single recipe that uses Butterfingers in the almost 5 years I’ve been blogging.
It was high time to change that.
As an aside, I have a recipe for Homemade Butterfingers. Ready in 1 minute in the microwave and they’re made with peanut butter and candy corn that are melted together, then topped with chocolate. So easy and taste eerily close to the real thing. If you have extra candy corn, make that recipe, stat.
But back to these bars. No-bake Cereal Bars are one of my favorite things to make. You can’t go wrong combining peanut butter, sugar, cereal, and chocolate in the microwave, with some candy bars tossed in to complete the elegant ensemble.
They may not be the height of classy, but boy, they sure taste ridiculously good and you can’t beat no-bake.
According to Nestle, Butterfingers are gluten-free and since all other ingredients used are gluten-free, you’re looking a gluten-free dessert that comes together in minutes.
If you want to keep the bars vegan and gluten-free, replace the Butterfingers with Peanut Butter Cups, since the Butterfingers are the only non-vegan ingredient used.
Ironically, there’s no butter or buttery spreads used in these very buttery-tasting decadent bars.
They have the same base layer as Chocolate Peanut Butter Kit Kat Crunch Bars and the Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars have, except there’s cocoa powder stirred in. It gives just the right amount of chocolate intensity to stand up to the bold peanut buttery, caramely sauce that glues together the cereal to comprise the base layer.
After making the base, I melted chocolate chips and peanut butter together and spread that over the top.
A couple baking tips. I like melting 1 cup of chocolate chips to 1/4 cup of peanut butter. The peanut butter helps prevent the chocolate from scorching as easily. And it helps prevent the chocolate from setting up too firm and prevents it from cracking when sliced.
Then I sprinkled on crushed Butterfingers. I used 7 Fun-Size candy bars, and I simply squeezed them in my palm before unwrapping them to find orange flakes and chunks. They crush very easily so don’t squeeze to hard or you’ll have orange dust.
Finally, I melted another quarter-cup of chocolate chips for a final drizzle. I did this to help ‘set’ some of the Butterfinger crumbly bits, and as a happy accident, the drizzle gives the bars a Halloween-ish look.
Biting through each of the layers is a texture lover’s dream. They’re firm enough so they’re not a gooey mess, and the texture is dense and exceedingly chewy, yet soft.
The chewy and dense chocolate-peanut butter base with crispy cereal for texture is a great contrast to the the firm yet soft layer of chocolate-peanut butter, and the abundance of crunchy, salty-and-sweet Butterfingers.
It’s a requirement that you’re a chocolate + peanut butter fan for these because that flavor combo is what they’re all about.
And of course, you have to be a Butterfinger lover.
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Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Bars
Ingredients
Base
- 1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter, use Jif, Skippy, or similar; do not use natural or homemade peanut butter
- ½ cup light corn syrup, light-colored, not lite
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder, Dutch-process may be substituted
- 3 cups Rice Krispies
Topping
- about 1 cup crushed or diced Butterfinger
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, use Jif, Skippy, or similar; do not use natural or homemade peanut butter
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, for drizzling
Instructions
- Base – Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine peanut butter, corn syrup, sugars, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Mixture will be on the granular side, this is okay.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat for 1 more minute on high power.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Stir in the cocoa powder
- Stir in the cereal.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, packing it down firmly with a spatula and smoothing the top; set pan aside.
- Topping – Crush or dice the Butterfingers. I squeeze them in my palm before unwrapping them. They crush very easily so don’t squeeze too hard or you’ll have orange dust; set candy aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup chocolate chips, peanut butter, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Chips may not be completely melted. Return bowl to microwave and heat in 15-second bursts until mixture can be stirred smooth; 15 seconds is likely all they’ll need.
- Pour chocolate mixture over base, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Working somewhat quickly so that chocolate doesn’t begin to set up, evenly sprinkle Butterfingers over the chocolate. I prefer a fairly densely covered surface; add candy according to preference. Set pan aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl (same one just used to melt the chocolate and peanut butter is fine; don’t need to wash it), place 1/4 cup chocolate chips and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt. Stop to stir. Chips may not be completely melted. Return bowl to microwave and heat in 15-second bursts until chocolate can be stirred smooth, 15 seconds is likely all they’ll need.
- Using a spoon, evenly drizzle chocolate over the top of bars.
- Cover pan with a sheet of foil (to prevent fridge smells), and place pan in fridge to set up for at least 3 hours, or overnight, or until layers are completely set before lifting bars out with foil overhang, slicing, and serving. Before slicing, allowing bars to come to room temp for 15 minutes will make slicing much easier. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Adapted from Chocolate Peanut Butter Kit Kat Crunch Bars, which were adapted from Chewy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cereal Bars
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Fan of Butterfingers? Chocolate and peanut butter? Favorite no-bake bar recipe?
Impressive chewy chocolate peanut butter butterfinger bars recipe that we should check out. This would be a huge help. Thanks for sharing this one out.
would I double the recipe for a 9×9 pan?
You’d double for a 9×13.
I made these for my sons’ birthday, and everyone loved them! Thanks for a terrific recipe.
Happy Bday to your son and glad these were a hit!
Do you think Corn Flakes could be used instead of the Rice Krispies ?
Yes they could and I also have these which can be make with CFs or Special K https://www.averiecooks.com/no-bake-peanut-butter-marshmallow-cereal-bars/
I made these for a Halloween party and they were a huge hit! I’m thinking some peppermint extract, white.chocolate, and a candy cane topping for a Christmas batch!
I’m so glad to hear they were a huge hit!
peppermint extract, white.chocolate, and a candy cane topping = sounds great! The only caveat is I don’t know how that will jive with the PB but…there’s only one way to find out :)
I don’t care what it looks like — if it has chocolate in it, I’m going to eat it! It’s my favorite food group on the pyramid. ;) I never really ate Butterfingers as a kid, probably because I was too distracted by the Reese’s in my trick-or-treat bag!
I haven’t had a butterfinger in years but now seeing all the recipes online featuring them, I want one really badly! These no bake bars are beautiful, Averie. I’m always amazed at how you make something seemingly so simple into a swoonworthy work of art. I can just imagine the chew and crunch of these bars, along with that fabulous flavour combination.
always amazed at how you make something seemingly so simple into a swoonworthy work of art <--- thank you, Nancy! I try to take ingredients everyone has and elevate them into something you'd never guess you could have achieved. So thank you for noticing! :)