When it came to trick-or-treating, my brother and I meant business. We planned our M&M and Cleopatra costumes over a month in advance, and we drove our ghost- and witch-covered pillowcases clear across town where the homes were closer together (less time wasted traveling!) and the parents at the doors were more generous.
After hauling in the loot, we drew a clear line across the living room carpet and dumped out our treasure, carefully sorting each piece into piles before haggling away at trades. (Mom hovered above us, not to prevent any arguments but to snatch up any nut-laden candy we threatened to throw away!)
I could usually barter for a few extra chocolatey treats in exchanged for Skittles or Starburst, but with his intense attraction to peanut butter, I bet neither of us would have parted with these homemade butterfingers!
Feel free to spread only half of the melted chocolate over the tops of the bars before cutting if you prefer more peanut butter taste.
- Line an 8x8” pan with parchment paper or tin foil.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the candy corn in the microwave for 15-second intervals, stirring between each one, until melted. Stir in the peanut butter. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, and refrigerate for 1 hr. (If left longer than 1 hr, microwave the hardened mixture for 30 sec on 50% power, or until soft enough to cut through without it breaking into hundreds of tiny pieces!)
- Remove the peanut butter mixture from the pan, and slice into 2x8” bars. Slice each bar into 10-12 rectangles.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or tin foil.
- Pour the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat in the microwave for 15-second intervals, stirring between each one, until melted. Coat the peanut butter bars with the chocolate, and place on the prepared tray. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
What?? Candy corn?! That’s crazy! Need to try this one!
I know! I didn’t believe it when I saw it, so I had to try it for myself… Turns out the texture is almost exactly the same!
Hope you enjoy it!
Omg, I was JUST thinking about searching for a homemade butterfinger recipe. This is amazing.
What a happy coincidence! :] Hope you enjoy it!
they look great 🙂
Thank you! My friend’s little 5-year-old boy ended up eating 4 of them in one sitting… I certainly hope his parents didn’t mind!
Maybe if he was eating them everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner ;)… but for a one-off seasonal treat, I am sure it was just fine with them (not to mention yummy for the little boy 😉 )
Thanks for easing my conscience! :] I checked back, and they gave their son a couple in his lunch every day… A little better than splurging on 4 at once!
So I popped over to read your blog, and your memories of Halloween is exactly like mine, especially the part of coming home, making piles and trading…lol….my parents were super cheap though and we used pillow cases for trick-or-treating bags! Oh the simple days…..
On a good year, we’d get those little $1 plastic pumpkins as a treat bucket, but most years, we used decorated pillowcases too. Even though I’ve long since outgrown my trick-or-treating years, I still get nostalgic about our candy trade when little kids knock on my door!
Anyone know of a Gluten Free brand of Candy Corn?
I’ve heard that Jelly Belly makes gluten-free candy corn around Halloween. It might be worth checking out!
What is the UK equivalent of candy corn?
I’m not sure Sue, but I just did a quick search and there are a few companies that sell American candy in the UK! The two I found are called “The Stateside Candy Company” and “American Soda”. Each store has a couple of locations, and you can order candy corn from them online as well. (Just search “candy corn” or “Halloween candy” after clicking on either of those links.) Good luck!
I’ve been making this candy for at least 4 years. I have to hide the candy corn after Halloween or my husband will eat it all. Ha ha. Only one comment: be careful you melt all the corn. Stir, stir, stir. The first time I made it I was slightly careless and had a few hard spots in my Butter Fingers. They should be melt in your soft. I give this candy 5,stars.
Thanks for sharing your tip about melting and stirring Jean! I’m so glad you enjoy the candy! 🙂
I tried this recipe but my microwave gave out about halfway through so I put the mostly melted candy corn and peanut butter in the oven. It was super easy to mix it all together that way into the pan. While it was still warm I use the end of a spatula to go ahead and cut out squares I wanted since I know it gets really stiff when it chills. I didn’t refrigerate since I put the pan in the oven and just let it cool down to room temperature. They turned out great and wasn’t as hard as I think it would have been had I not put it in the oven.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Tera! Thanks for sharing what you did with the oven. I always love to hear what modifications work, and that was so smart of you to try!
I wasn’t able to find the calorie count and nutritional values on the 3 ingredient butterfingers receipt. Could you send me that information please? Thank you in advance.
This is the nutrition calculator that I use! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Karen!