Healthy Vegan Butterfinger Candy Bars with just 6 ingredients, dairy-free, oil-free and incredibly delicious! Made with whole foods and mulberries!
VEGAN BUTTERFINGER CANDY BARS
I’m just going to put this out there….this might just be the most amazing recipe I have ever been able to come up with in my kitchen…..especially considering the ease and ingredient list! I took my favorite candy bar of all time that is filled with this:
WHAT IS BUTTERFINGER CANDY MADE OUT OF?
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Peanuts, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa, Molasses, Whey, Confectioner’s Corn Flakes, Nonfat Milk, Salt, Lactic Acid Esters, Soy Lecithin, Soybean Oil, Cornstarch, Artificial Flavors, Tbhq And Citric Acid, Yellow 5, Red 40
Pretty darn gross.
Well, now you can have Vegan Butterfinger Candy Bars that taste just as amazing and they are actually healthy butterfingers!
Butterfinger was my favorite candy bar growing up. What I loved about it was the sweet, chewy, crunchiness that is covered in chocolate. And who doesn’t love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate? These taste rich, sweet and amazing. Honestly, that is why I didn’t want to coat the entire thing in chocolate…it would be overkill. These are seriously sweet enough, as is. But if you want them covered in chocolate, knock yourself out!
I have seen a few vegan butterfinger recipes on the internet…but they all use corn syrup, molasses, sugar and/or cornflakes. That’s fine of course, but not what I was after and none of those are raw.
HOW I CAME UP WITH THIS RECIPE
I thought…..”how in the world can I create that sticky, sweet and crunch factor without cornflakes and without molasses??”
I was lying in bed one night racking my brain….like I do quite often with recipes…..and some how the stars aligned and this just popped in my head….“wait, dried white mulberries are chewy, slightly crunchy and amazingly, naturally sweet!!” Seriously, the first time I tried them I was blown away by how sweet they are….they taste just like a chewy ball of honey. Tip: I keep mine in the fridge and they become crunchy….even better. They are a superfood fruit that is incredibly good for you!
Would mulberries really work?? So, the next day I threw some dried mulberries and some peanuts in my food processor and whirled it about a minute until it was a sticky, crumbly texture. I tried it and whoa, the flavor tasted just like a butterfinger
My hubby and I both just were kind of stunned at the authenticity of the flavor. Each one I ate, I just kept saying…wow, I’m eating a butterfinger without the guilt!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BUTTERFINGER CANDY BARS
You won’t believe the secret ingredient I used to be able to create these healthy butterfinger candy bars. No scary candy making involved, no thermometers, no cornflakes or awful ingredients.
First, you will need the very magical ingredient: mulberries!
I order my mulberries from Rawguru, but you can also order them here from Amazon and they are super cheap! I’ve also seen them at my local HEB and Whole Foods, so for those wanting to make this asap today, run to the store!
Next, you will simply add the peanuts to a food processor and pulse into crumbles.
Add the liquids and pulse into sticky clumps.
Add the batter to a lined loaf pan and press down hard and flat.
Melt the chocolate, spread it on top of the butterfinger mixture and freeze until firm! These process photos will help.
I honestly still can’t get over that this idea worked and that I can totally eat a “butterfinger” without the awful ingredients or guilt. I hope you all love these Vegan Butterfinger Candy Bars!
Healthy Vegan Butterfinger Candy Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 heaping cups (180g) mulberries dried, not fresh!
- 3/4 cup (120g) roasted peanuts
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons (40g) raw agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE TOPPING: Choose any 1 of the 3 options
- Option 1: Melt 5 oz of your favorite chocolate bar (5 oz is about 1 1/2 regular size bars (3.5 oz size bars)
- Option 2: Melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
MAKE YOUR OWN
- 1/2 cup (120g) melted liquid cocoa butter
- 1/2 cup (48g) raw cacao powder
- 3-4 tablespoons (60-80g) agave or preferred liquid sweetener
Note
- Keep your mulberries stored in the fridge for extra crunch. Following the exact weight measurements will ensure the right texture result. Agave or coconut nectar works best for the batter. I wouldn't use maple syrup, since it's not quite as thick or sticky. Make sure to store these in the freezer, as they will have more of a crunch and hold together best.
Instructions
- Line a 9X5 loaf pan (make sure it isn't a 10X5 as that will make the bars skinny and fragile) with parchment paper hanging over the sides, for easy removal later.
- Add the mulberries, peanuts and salt to a food processor and pulse until a crumbly flour forms. You don't want it into a paste, just a fine crumbly texture (see pic). Add the agave and vanilla. Pulse several times until sticky large clumps form, being careful not to create "butter". If the batter is not holding as clumps when pressed with your fingers, add a touch more agave. It needs to be forming sticky clumps, as this is what will make the bars hold together.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan and spread out, flat and even, working your way around to the corners. Press down very hard and compact. Overlap the parchment paper and press down really hard and evenly. Place in the freezer for just 15 minutes to firm up a bit.
- Gently melt the chocolate to your preferred method and spread over the top of the dough evenly and quickly since the cold bars will start to harden the chocolate. Place back in the freezer for just a few minutes to harden the chocolate.
- Very carefully, lift up the bars and with a fine sharp knife, cut into 7 bars. If they are too hard to cut, let them thaw 5 minutes. Don't leave them at room temperature long though, as they will soften too much.
- Place them back in the freezer this time to harden for an hour, then you can remove them from the pan and wrap them individually in plastic wrap, if you desire. Keep them stored in the freezer and they will retain their crunch that way. They become more firm overnight. You could also keep them in the fridge, but they will be less crunchy.
Notes
Really good, even though I had to make a few substitutions, and I think my mulberries weren’t the crunchiest. I was a few peanuts short, so I added a little bit of peanut butter to make the weight. I was also short on the chocolate chips, so added peanut butter there too. I used date syrup because that’s what I had in the cupboard.
Thanks for a healthier version of an old favorite!
This sounds amazing – you are a vegan goddess. I also have to thank you for is spelling “whoa” correctly. SO many people are spelling it “woah”. It’s become worse that people writing “walla” for “voila”. Most importantly, your recipes work and are delicious. THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Yankoz! You are so sweet, thank you! Haha, that is sooo hilarious about “walla”! Thank you for your kind words!
Wallah is a Hebrew/Aravic expression that is used to express surprise or enthusiasm, among other things, so it’s not necessarily wrong.
YUM! These came out so absolutely divine! I didn’t have the patience to press them into a pan so I rolled them into balls, dipped them in melted chocolate and placed in freezer. Upon first taste, they were really good, but they take on a whole other level of deliciousness once cold. I haven’t eaten a commercial candy bar in many years but they reminded me of one of my past favorites… a Whatchamcallit bar. I can’t wait to make these for more friends and family! Thank you so much!!!