You can make your very own homemade butterfingers! This copycat version contains only 3 ingredients and does not require corn syrup. Can you guess the secret ingredient?!
Original recipe: November 2011 | Updated: October 2022
Why This Recipe Works
If you ask me what my favorite candy is, I will probably give you a dozen different answers. Rolos, Starburst, Dots, Twix and Butterfinger Candy Bars are all at the top of my list.
I’m not just a salad connoisseur, candy is also a personal specialty. I have 36 years of candy-eating experience and a mouth full of fillings to back that up. Plus, it’s in my genes. My dad loves candy even more than I do.
There was a greasy (delicious) little eatery on Main Street in our small Iowa town growing up where the entire town ate supper at least once a week.
Back then, they made “tornadoes,” which were the equivalent to a DQ blizzard. My dad would often go to Cliff’s to get me a Butterfinger Tornado, and perhaps a treat for himself.
Eventually we stopped having Cliff’s make our tornadoes, and my dad starting making them at home. I recall asking him to make me a lot of Butterfinger Tornadoes in the years that followed.
You can imagine my delighted surprise when I learned recently how easy it is to make Butterfinger candy bars at home and how much they taste like the real deal!
Homemade Butterfinger Ingredients
Ever wonder what’s in a butterfinger? Three simple ingredients, that’s all you need to make these delicious homemade candy bars.
- Candy corn (use up your leftover Halloween candy!)
- Creamy peanut butter
- Milk chocolate
How To Make Homemade Butterfingers
Step 1
Melt candy corn by placing it in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, followed by 30-second bursts until the candy is melted. Stir until creamy.
Step 2
Add the peanut butter and stir until completely combined and creamy. Microwave the peanut butter mixture for 30 seconds longer, if necessary. Pour the mixture into a parchment paper lined 8×8 baking dish.
Allow to sit for an hour and a half, until it has cooled completely. Remove from pan and cut into 2×1-inch pieces using a sharp knife. Wipe excess crumbs off of the candy pieces.
Step 3
In a medium bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute, followed by 30-second intervals until it is smooth and creamy when stirred. Stab the bottoms of the candy pieces with a small fork.
Dip candies into the melted chocolate to coat completely, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Carefully set on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once I had all of my candy bars made, I placed the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so they could set.
Recipe Notes
- Corn-on-the-cob skewers or toothpicks worked great for dipping the hardened peanut butter mixture into the chocolate.
- Add up to 1 cup of crushed corn flakes or rice krispies cereal to add crunch to the candy bars. This will add a touch of added flavor, too!
- Try replacing creamy with crunchy peanut butter for added crunchy texture.
Homemade Butterfinger Recipe Without Candy Corn
Using candy corn is ideal for best results, but if you can’t find or eat this ingredient replace it with 1 cup of maple syrup or honey. Bring it to a boil over medium heat on the stove top until it reaches 300 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to measure the temp!
Once the thermometer says 300 degrees, remove pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Pour into a parchment lined dish and follow the remaining instructions as directed below.
How To Store Homemade Butterfingers
Store in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temperature. If you leave them in the fridge, your bars will be more crispy, rather than chewy if left on the counter. They should be good for 3-5 days.
I’m warning you right now, it will be hard not to over-indulge. Have people available to share these with!
Candy Corn Desserts
If you have leftover candy corn on your hands, here are some more great options for using it up!
Fall Recipes
Fall is my favorite time of year – with bonfires, cool, crisp weather and ah-mazing foods that scream fall! Check out a few of my favorites to share with you.
- Best Pumpkin Bars
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Halloween Snack Mix
- Cinnamon Baked Apple Slices
- Apple Pie Jam
- Fall Potpourri
- Apple Pie Filling
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Homemade Butterfinger Candy Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups candy corn
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 24 oz milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the candy corn in a medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, followed by 30-second bursts until it is melted. Stir until creamy.
- Add the peanut butter and stir until completely combined. Pour mixture into a parchment-lined 8×8 baking dish. Allow to cool for an hour and a half. Remove from pan and cut into 2×1-inch pieces, using a sharp knife. Wipe excess crumbs from candy pieces.
- In a medium bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute, followed by 30-second bursts until it is smooth and creamy when stirred. Using a small fork, impale bottoms of candies and dip them into the melted chocolate. Coat completely.
- Set on wax paper-lined baking sheet for cooling. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes until set. Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Corn-on-the-cob skewers worked great for this. Dip candies into the melted chocolate to coat completely. Carefully set on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet and allow to cool.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temperature. If you leave them in the fridge, your bars will be more crispy, rather than chewy if left on the counter. They will be good for 3-5 days.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that it is too hard to bite sometimes. Do you know what might happen if you whipped it before pouring onto parchment paper? Butterfingers seem to have little air layers in them. They’re crunchy but make little slivers like when broken off, like they were aerated.
I’ve made these several times and they do harden but I don’t think it’d be possible to whip them, but I’ve never tried. So if you do that, please let me know how it turned out! I didn’t feel they were too hard to bite into and my kids didn’t either, probably the peanut butter helping them to stay softer.
I made this and it came out really hard. What did I do wrong
Hi Barbara! You could have possibly microwaved the candy corn for too long? This could definitely be a culprit. I hope you’ll try again! Microwave in 15-second intervals next time, making sure to stir after each, and stopping when creamy. I hope this helps!
Megan
I just made these and they are so tough you can’t get your teeth into them! Did anyone else have this happen to them? They are so difficult to chew you could definitely pull out a filling!! I didn’t end up covering them in chocolate once I realized the filling was too difficult to chew. ?
Oh no, Fran! I’ve never had this problem! Were your candy corn fresh? If you had hard candy corn, I can see where these might get a bit tough. So sorry they didn’t turn out….but definitely try again because they are so worth it!
Megan
When I try to melt the candy corn it hardens on the sides and sticks to the bowl. If feel like I leave a lot in the bowl. Does anyone else have issues melting the candy corn?
Hi Mary! Did you melt the candy corn in short increments? If your increments are too long I can see where they might stick. Try 20 seconds at a time. I hope this helps!
Megan
Why can’t I print off the recipe? Would love to try them.
Hi Jimmie! I’m so sorry about this. This has been one of my major hiccups after updating my website. I’m working to get it fixed! In the meantime, if you’d like for me to email you any recipe, I will definitely do that. Send me an email at pipandebby AT gmail DOT com and let me know which ones you’d like! Sorry for the inconvenience.
That sounds delicious, Jason! Let me know if you give it a try!
Megan
Im curious if since the "butterfinger" flavor is almost a sauce consistency if you could swirl it through a brownie batter and make Butterfinger Brownies. you would get the flavor but if you added candies they could get soggy. maybe this could work?
Has anyone tried these? Do they taste like the real deal?!
I made them last night and yes they taste like the real deal! I used ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips but I must admit they are hard to stay out of! 🙂
Thwopped bark certainly wouldn't be butterfinger bars , but the flavor is definitely there! The coconut worked perfectly. The recipe I have is actually called "Butterfinger Bark". But it has the same ingredients as this recipe . I just fiddled with it until I found the one ingredient that makes the crunch of a butterfinger. They are yummy and taste like the real thing, no matter what shape they are in. I just put them on a serving dish and let people nibble at their will. Never a complaint they just ask for more! =0). Hope your recipe turns out awesome! =0)
The trick to getting the bit of chewy crunch of real butterfingers is to not worry about getting a creamy texture when you still the peanut butter in. The candy corn made tiny shards that didnt seem to get creamy–and those must have become crunchy chewy bits. No need to fool around with extra ingredients! These do not flake and drop pieces into your lap the way an official butterfinger does, but the taste and the COLOR is amazingly close! Creepy, actually! My dipping was not very neat so I may try the bottom/top layer someone suggested. I suspect if one scored the chocolate into squares while it is still melty they could be cut more easily later. Thwopped bark just wouldnt be butterfinger bars!
Hi Jean. I don't have the recipe on hand at the moment, but If I remember correctly, I used 1 1/2 bags of choc chips per layer and spread it in a 13×9 pan. (covered in wax paper, sprayed with pam) and about 5-6 cups of candy corn and a jar of pnut butter and the 2 cups of toasted coconut. I melted the candy corn in a microwave safe bowl, stirring it about every 30 seconds or so, until completely melted, then I added the pnut butter, mixing it well, and then the coconut also mixing it well, and immediately spread it on the cold hard chocolate layer, make sure to spread it evenly, if it comes out too thick, it will be hard to break evenly and end up separating the chocolate from the pnut butter center.(I know, that's what happened my first attempt at this) =0) Then, once that has hardened, do the next layer of chocolate, spread evenly, and chill for at least 30 to 45 minutes, and when you're ready, "thwop" it on the counter for your butterfinger bark! And to the author of this post, please don't be upset that I posted a different way to do this on here. I love the look and neatness of your candy. I am not trying to change your recipe or anything, just offering suggestions for other ways to try it. =0) Thanks for posting and Good luck Jean! Hope it turns out for you!!=0)
Thank you SO much, Dawn! I made it by hardening the PB center first, then cutting in squares and dipping. That way is ok, but I much prefer to do it the way you described. Could you e-mail me and give the the exact quantity of chocolate to melt for each layer? I like the sound of the "slamming" part too! Just kidding!!!!! 🙂 My e-mail is nitajean49@gmail.com. Thank you SO much!
The candy is delicious, except that I mixed some semi-sweet chocolate in with the milk to give it some more hardness, but I don't like the taste of the semi-sweet with the pb center. I won't do that again! It's delicious, though, and my kitchen smelled exactly like butterfingers for quite a while after I made it! I'll definitely be making it at Christmas time and it will be Butterfinger Bark!!! Thanks Dawn and Megan!!!
Hi Jean. Thanks for the comment! =0) First off let me say that, the butterfinger candy would be too hot to form into squares to dip, unless you either freeze it or cool it in the fridge first. My recipe says to melt and spread the chocolate in the bottom of a wax paper lined, greased pan, refrigerate to cool , back to it's original hard stage. While it's cooling, it says to melt the candy corn in the microwave, stirring every minute or so, until melted, then add the pnut butter and my addition of coconut and mix well. after the chocolate has hardened to where if you spread the pnut butter center on it and it won't move or mix in with it. Then place it back in the fridge to, once again, harden the pnut butter center while you melt more chocolate for the top layer. After the candy is hard, I slam it on the counter and Voila! I have ButterFinger Bark!! =0) but, you can always do it the other way, it may be more attractive to harden the pnut butter center, then cut it into squares and dip them in melted chocolate one at a time. It's messy and more time consuming. =0) Also, don't let the pnut butter/ candy corn get hard before you can spread it. Spread it as soon as you take it out. So be sure that your chocolate is already been in the fridge for a bit so it will be hard already, it only takes about a total of 6 minutes to do the filling. Good luck! If you want my recipe on how I do it, verbatim, email me and I will email it to you. Hope it comes out ok!! =0)