Salted Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars

Reminiscent of a Butterfinger, these peanut butter cornflake bars are the perfect fall sweet! Crunchy, sweet, salty, and full of peanutty flavor, these cornflake cereal treats are so simple to make and use just a handful of ingredients.

Salted Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars – Ingredients

• Cornflakes, unsweetened: Love the unsweetened cornflakes from The Real Cereal Company.
• Honey: Swap the honey for brown rice syrup to make these vegan.
• Creamy peanut butter, natural and unsweetened: Both salted and unsalted peanut butter work.
• Dark chocolate, unsweetened: Any unsweetened dark chocolate works; however, I’m partial to the Navitas Organics unsweetened cacao wafers. I love using unsweetened dark chocolate for these bars; it perfectly balances the sweetness of the cornflake mixture. That said, you can use milk chocolate if you want these to taste even closer to a Butterfinger.
• Ground vanilla: Love the ground vanilla from Beyond Good. Vanilla paste also works; just swap it 1:1 for the ground vanilla.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt: I used both salted peanut butter and salted cornflake cereal. If your peanut butter is unsalted, and the cornflake cereal you use doesn’t contain salt, increase the kosher salt to 1 tsp.

Method

Prep the pan. Line an 8×8-inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang to easily lift the bars out of the pan later. Set aside.

Crush the cornflakes. Add the cornflakes to a large Ziploc bag and seal. Using a rolling pin, crush the cereal into small pieces (see reference photo below for comparison). Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Heat the syrup mixture. In a small pot, add the honey, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring vigorously to combine everything. Once the mixture is warm to the touch (it should be easily pourable), remove it from the heat.

Combine the syrup and cornflakes, press into the pan, spread over the chocolate, and freeze. Pour the peanut butter and honey mixture over the cornflakes, and using a flexible rubber spatula, mix thoroughly until combined. Pop the cornflake mixture into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. Then, using the back of a cup or measuring cup, firmly press the mixture into the pan to compress it. Pour the melted chocolate over the bars and spread it out in an even layer. Typically, tilt the pan around to spread the chocolate, or you could gently spread it with an offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour to set.

Cut and store. Cut into 16 bars and store them in a glass container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes & Storage

• Use an 8×8 inch square pan (affiliate link) for crisp-edged cornflake bars.
• I tested this recipe with the cereal whole and crushed; crushing the cereal yields much crunchier, chewier bars that are closest to the texture of a Butterfinger.
• Firmly pack the cornflake treats down with a measuring cup or glass. It’ll compress the treats and make them more dense and chewy!
• Freeze the cornflake treats before cutting them – it’s so much easier to cut them when they’re frozen, as opposed to sticky and gooey at room temperature. And while you don’t have to cut these into bars, I find that these eat best when cut into long, thin bars.
• Store these bars in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 week. I highly recommend placing a sheet of parchment paper between the bars so they don’t stick together. If you store them in the freezer (I prefer keeping them there; who doesn’t love a frozen candy bar?), just let them thaw for 5 minutes to soften slightly.

So excited for you to make these – they’re my new favorite sweet treat! Please leave a starred rating and review; I love hearing your feedback.

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