Crispy, Crunchy, Homemade Butterfinger Recipe

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Recipe Testing to Get It Right

I am Extremely Excited, stoked even (and I never use that word), to bring you this crispy Butterfinger recipe, you guys. This is my most tested recipe ever.

I submit I have developed a homemade copycat for Butterfinger candy bars that is as close to the factory-produced kind as I can get while using my regular kitchen equipment.

Nine times.

That’s the number of times it took me to get these Butterfingers just right.

• I made some with a sugar syrup.
• I made others with melted down candy corn.
• Some I added molasses to.
• I tried different proportions of peanut butter to syrup.
• I tried folding the candy around the peanut butter (never try that. You’re welcome).
• And finally, after 8 tries and a two week break, I have it. Potion #9 is it.

Crispy.

Crunchy.

Peanut buttery.

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Butterfinger Ingredients

While I would never go so far as to say my Butterfinger recipe is healthy, I will say that my version tastes better than the originals, mainly because of the chocolate I used. More on that later.

Note that Butterfinger has recently reformulated their candy bar recipe. The new recipe has only been available since February of 2019. I haven’t tried it yet, but when I do, I shall report back.

Regardless, kudos to Butterfinger for listening to consumers and getting rid of some ingredients folks weren’t loving as well as improving their Questionable “Chocolatey Coating!”

Here is the ingredient list for the OLD Butterfinger bars:

• Corn Syrup
• Sugar
• Ground Roasted Peanuts
• Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
• Cocoa
• Molasses

And Less Than 1% Of:

• Dairy Product Solids
• Confectioner’s Corn Flakes
• Nonfat Milk
• Salt
• Soy Lecithin
• Soybean Oil
• Cornstarch
• Natural Flavors
• Monoglycerides
• TBHQ And Citric Acid (To Preserve Freshness)
• Annatto Color

It says on the Butterfinger website that the new formula doesn’t contain any of the following:

• NO hydrogenated oils
• NO TBHQ
• NO artificial preservatives
• NO artificial colors or flavors*

UPDATE: Improved 2019 Ingredients

You guys, I told you I’d try the new Butterfinger and I did today. I couldn’t taste it side by side with the original recipe, but the “chocolaty coating” is certainly more chocolaty than the old version. That I can tell you for sure.

Here are the ingredients in the new version per the candy wrapper:

• Corn Syrup
• Sugar
• Peanuts
• Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel and Palm Oil)
• Peanut Flour
• Nonfat Milk

And less than 2% of:

• Cocoa
• Milk
• Salt
• Yellow Corn Flour
• Soy Lecithin
• Natural Flavor
• Annatto Color

It’s notable that the new version of Butterfingers no longer contains molasses or confectioner’s corn flakes. I may have to go back to the drawing board and see what I can come up with.

Honestly though, my copycat version is pretty darned good just the way it is!

Reader Rave

Made these today. Wow! Absolutely delish and exactly what I hoped for! Thank you for your efforts to perfect this recipe. You succeeded! Working with exact weights and temperatures makes it almost foolproof.

There is a bit of a learning curve on the folding at the end. You warned me to err to the side of too soft, but I made one fold too many so the final layers didn’t quite marry. Once cool most of my pieces peeled into two thinner pieces. Not ideal, but twice as many! Lol. And the crumbly bits got stirred into a bit of chocolate and dropped by spoonfuls to set up. Nothing wasted!

Gonna try another batch tomorrow. My kids think I’m a genius, but you get all the credit! Thanks for sharing!

Reader And Hero To Her Kids Trina

Making the Candy with Candy Corn

I have made these candy bars/candy bites with candy corn, because candy corn already has the optimal proportion of corn syrup to sugar in them.

However, candy corn is not vegan or even vegetarian due to the addition of some gelatin and honey.

If that is a concern for you, I will also tell you how you can make these using corn syrup and granulated sugar.

They will not be as orange-y as a real Butterfinger or as a Butterfinger recipe made with candy corn, but they will be vegetarian. And they will be delicious.

Questions You May Have:

Are Butterfingers Gluten Free?

According to the Celiac Disease Foundation: regular Butterfinger bars are gluten free, but: “…only in fun size, singles, and share pack (Butterfinger Bites, Butterfinger Minis, Butterfinger Cups, and special holiday-shaped Butterfinger items are NOT considered gluten-free).”

Be cautious if you have a gluten allergy or are Celiac.

These copycat crispy Butterfinger bars are gluten free as long as you are careful with your ingredient sourcing.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll need to make them, with the exception of one sneaky ingredient you’ll get in the recipe.

Are These Candy Bars Hard to Make?

I would definitely categorize this recipe as intermediate to advanced.

It’s not hard to make, per se, but you are working with molten sugar, and you have to be careful. This is not a recipe to make with your kids unless they are older. Like maybe teenagers.

Let younger kids help you dip the candies in chocolate, but keep them out of the kitchen or at least at a respectful distance while you’re making the centers.

And definitely keep pets out of the kitchen while working with boiling sugar. Much better safe than sorry.

PRO TIP 1: When working with molten sugar, keep a bowl of very cold water handy so you can immerse your finger or hand if a little bit of sugar splashes on you.

Whatever you do, don’t stick your finger in your mouth. You’ll just end up with a burned finger and a burned mouth.

PRO TIP 2: unless you’re making a ton of specialty chocolates, using a regular fork for dipping will work just fine. No need to get fancy chocolate dipping forks unless you really want them.

What Can Possibly Go Wrong?

For one, you can burn yourself. We’re cooking the candy corn mixture to just over 300F, and then we have to stir in some really thick peanut butter so be careful.

Once I stir in the peanut butter, I scrape the molten candy out onto a Silpat and then knead it through the Silpat by folding it over.

But, I have a fairly high tolerance for heat. If you don’t, consider using an oven mitt or even better, get an Ove-Glove to help you in kneading through the Silpat.

You could also cook the candy too hot so it caramelizes, which is not what we want.

Or you might not get it hot enough so that when it cools, your candy won’t be crispety crunchety.

The only help for that is to have an accurate instant read thermometer or candy thermometer so you can monitor the temperature and know just when to add the peanut butter to the pot.

Please note that a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the pot might not take a true temperature as the candy is generally cooler at the sides. Also, it might not read accurately unless the molten candy is deep enough.

For this candy, you’re only looking at 8 oz of candy, so either double it or plan on tipping the pan to get a good reading with a clip-on thermometer.

Pro Tip

I got this tip from reader Patti G, who also happened to love these, saying they are “spot on!”

At any rate, here is her tip in the event you should get a sugar burn:

PRO TIP: Lavender oil is very good to keep in the kitchen for burns. A lot of glass artists do this while making beads which gets close to 1000 degrees and really smarts when a little piece flies off and hits bare skin.–Reader Patti G.

Do I Have To Temper Chocolate To Make This Recipe?

No. I mean, you could use couverture and temper it, but since tempering can be finicky and I don’t know what the conditions are in your particular kitchen, I wrote this recipe to use homemade coating chocolate.

It still sets up shiny like tempered chocolate, but it requires no special skill except for the ability to wait for the chocolate to set completely. And that can take a couple of hours if not more.

The secret? Refined coconut oil. The formula is this: use 10% of the weight of the chocolate in oil. So for 10 oz of chocolate, you’ll need one ounce of oil. I will say it again.

If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet, please get one. I promise it will make your life much easier. You will be so happy.

How To Make Homemade Butterfingers, Step by Step

It will take roughly 30 minutes to make your Butterfingers, not counting cooling time, dipping time, or time for the coating chocolate to set up, so plan accordingly.

1. Get Corn Flakes Ready
   Spread out your corn flakes in the center of a Silpat-lined half sheet pan. Put the pan close to the stove.
2. Mix Up Your “Dry” Ingredients
   Stir together the peanut butter, milk powder, and cocoa powder. Place that bowl convenient to the stove as well.
3. Cook the Candy
   Add candy corn and water to your pan. Heat over medium heat until the candy corn has melted. Then you can raise the temperature and cook the candy until it reaches 290F. Add the molasses and continue cooking until the candy reaches 305F.
4. Stir all ingredients together.
   Once your candy reaches 305F, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter mixture. Be careful and use a long-handled wooden spoon to minimize your chances of burning yourself.
5. Pour candy out onto prepared Silpat.
   Scrape the candy out onto the corn flake-lined Silpat. Use the Silpat to fold the candy over to incorporate the corn flakes.
6. Roll and fold the candy.
   As the candy cools and becomes more solid, you will be able to fold the candy over on itself into thirds, like folding a letter. Do this a couple of times using the Silpat to help you so you don’t burn yourself. As the candy continues to cool, you’ll be able to roll it out and fold it without the Silpat (although it will still be very hot, so be careful.)
7. Score, Cool, and Dip. Done!
   Give the candy a final roll to about 1/3″. Use a pizza wheel to score the candy about halfway through. You can make whatever shapes you like. I’m a fan of tiny squares rather than large bars, but make them how you want them. Once cool, break the candies apart and then dip them in the chocolate coating and let harden.

Other Homemade Candy Recipes You Might Enjoy

Looking for more candy? Try this bourbon honeycomb candy. Or maybe this cashew toffee is more your style. And do not miss my butterscotch hard candies. Seriously.

If you’d prefer to not work with molten sugar, try my butter mints. No cooking necessary, and they’re really tasty!

Don’t deny yourself. Make some candy. It’s rewarding and delicious!

And remember, if something goes awry and your candy gets crumbly (this happened to me AT LEAST TWICE while testing), stir the crumbles into ice cream. Seriously, they’ll still be delicious!

And that’s it, you guys. Maybe not quite as crispy as the originals, but just as crunchy. Homemade Butterfinger candy, y’all. Nine times is the charm.

Thanks for spending some time with me today, friends. Enjoy the copycat crunchy Butterfinger candy bars!

Take care, and have a lovely day.

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