Happy Halloween!

When you were a kid, what candy in the trick or treat bag made your day?  For me, it was chocolate, of course. And it couldn't be just any chocolate, either.  It had to be the good stuff - the name brand chocolate.  You name it..Snickers, Reese's, and of course, Butterfinger.

We don't have any trick or treaters of our own yet, and we're the type to eat any candy we buy for the trick or treaters a week before Halloween.  So,...we typically don't buy any (until after Halloween, that is).  But, the past few weeks, I've been seeing pins on Pinterest for homemade butterfinger candy bars.  One recipe has lots of ingredients, and the other so simple you don't believe it could possibly work.

The science geek in me really wanted to see how candy corn plus peanut butter equaled butterfinger bars!  But, yes, ladies and gentlemen, it works.  And, if I do say so myself, the homemade version is better than the original.  (But just as bad for you, LOL)

The "real" butterfinger is on the right.  Doppelganger on the left.

Homemade Butterfingers
16 oz candy corn

16 oz peanut butter

Chocolate coating (Candy Melts, Chocolate Bark, whatever you please)

Microwave the candy corn and peanut butter in a glass bowl until it starts to melt.  Stir.  Continue melting and stirring.  The candy corn will not melt as easily as the peanut butter, but you shouldn't need more than a minute and a half of microwaving total.  Keep stirring until the candy corn is completely melted and combined with the peanut butter.  The mixture will start out pretty grainy, and you'll think you're going to have to toss your bowl out. But, pretty soon, it comes together into a smooth ball, and very little candy sticks to the bowl. You can now press the mixture into a pan or candy molds to set, or scoop them into bonbons.  Let cool completely before covering in your melted candy coating.

I used a 5 oz bag of candy corn and about a half cup of peanut butter and got 5 "fun size" candy bars plus three small bonbons.  The homemade butterfingers are the size that fun size candy bars used to be when I was a kid (Don't you think they've gotten smaller?), had a stronger flavor, but had a softer texture.  You still get the crunchiness, but they don't get stuck in your teeth as much as the original.