Butterfinger Cookie Bars
Butterfinger Cookie Bars are a peanut butter lover’s dream. Soft, moist cookie bars are studded with Butterfinger bits and topped with peanut butter icing and more chopped Butterfinger bars.
Dessert bars are always a great choice for weeknight desserts, parties, and potlucks. So is the flavor of peanut butter! We love to combine the two, with recipes like old-fashioned peanut butter bars or peanut butter cup cookie bars.
These cookie bars take that to the next level by adding Butterfinger pieces to the dough and on top of the peanut butter frosting.
If you’re a fan of Butterfinger, check out our Butterfinger lush, chocolate Butterfinger poke cake, and brownie bottom Butterfinger cheesecake bars, too.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe requires only a few basic ingredients, available in your kitchen or at any grocery store.
- Easy: Just a little mixing and baking are all it takes to make these bars!
- So Peanut Buttery: The bars are full of chopped Butterfingers and topped with peanut butter icing and even more chopped Butterfingers.
- Great for Make-Ahead: These bars are freezer-friendly, so you can make extra for future desserts and events.
Key Ingredients
We’ve made this list to help you save time on your next trip to the grocery store. You can find the full amounts needed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Butterfinger Bars: Chopped Butterfinger bars in the basic cookie dough and topping the icing gives the bars tons of peanut butter bar flavor.
- Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is the sweet, nutty base for the icing.
- Butter: Butter thins the peanut butter, adds richness, and a luster to the icing.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar adds sweetness and body to the icing.
Variations
- Butterfinger: You can use chopped Reese’s Cups, Snickers, or Reese’s Pieces instead for fun, tasty variations.
- Icing: Use chocolate icing or frosting instead for a peanut butter-and-chocolate flavor combination.
- Peanut Butter: Use chunky peanut butter in the dough for more texture. You can also use your favorite nut butter varieties for different flavor combinations.
How to Make Butterfinger Cookie Bars
This is a quick overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Beat the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Then, add the remaining wet ingredients and beat again.
- Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl. Then, mix them into the wet ingredients until combined. Fold in the chopped Butterfinger pieces.
- Spread the dough evenly in a prepared 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350°F until golden brown. Cool completely.
- Beat the peanut butter and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Then, add the vanilla and mix again.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and milk until the icing is smooth and creamy.
- Spread the icing evenly over the cookie bars, top with more chopped Butterfinger, and slice. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Leave an overhang of parchment paper on the sides of your pan when lining it. You can use those edges as handles to easily remove the cookie bars.
- Fully cool your bars before icing them to ensure the icing remains rich and creamy. Warm bars will thin the icing on contact.
- Oil the back of a large spoon to easily spread the dough into a single layer before baking it.
- Mix your cookie bar dough until just combined. Overmixing will make the dough tough.
Butterfinger Cookie Bars FAQs
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Butterfinger cookie bars are cookie bars made with a basic dough loaded with chopped Butterfinger pieces. The bars are topped with peanut butter frosting and even more chopped Butterfinger pieces.
Dense cookie bars are usually the result of overmixing the dough. The key to tender baked goods of any kind is mixing until just combined and no further. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour and results in tough, dense baked goods.
Dry cookie bars are almost always due to using too much flour. Loosely spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife for accurate measuring. Never scoop the flour out directly with your measuring cup. This causes the flour to compact in the cup, resulting in too much being used.
These bars will last for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! We would love to hear back from you! You can also FOLLOW US on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more delicious recipes.
📖Recipe
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Butterfinger Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 baking dish
- parchment paper
- Cooking spray
- 2 large mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Offset spatula or butter knife
- cooling rack
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter 1 cup (room temp)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butterfinger bars chopped (3 big sized bars)
Topping:
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ cup Butterfinger bars chopped (5 big sized bars)
Instructions
- Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray, set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl add in the 1 cup of butter, sugar and brown sugar, beat using a hand mixer until it becomes light and creamy.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat again until mixed together.
- Add the flour, salt and baking soda and beat using the hand mixer until everything is combined.
- Add in the 1/2 cup of Butterfinger bits and mix once more.
- Scoop into the lined baking dish and spread around evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- In another large bowl add the peanut butter and 1 stick of butter and beat using a hand mixer until completely smooth and no chunks.
- Add the vanilla in and mix once again.
- Add in the powdered sugar and milk and beat again until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Spread all over the top of the cooled cookie layer evenly.
- Sprinkle the leftover butterfinger bits all over top and slice into bars, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- You need 8 fun sized Butterfinger bars, chop them up carefully into small chunks.
- You may need to oil up your hands to be able to spread the cookie dough around evenly.
- Leave some of the parchment paper sticking out the sides of the baking dish so you can lift it up to slice into bars!
Disclaimer
Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
