Butterfinger Cookies
These Butterfinger cookies are made with a one-bowl, no-chill peanut butter cookie dough that’s loaded with chopped Butterfingers. It’s the perfect recipe to use up all that Halloween candy!
Have extra Halloween candy lying around that you need to use up? These butterfinger cookies are the perfect base for mixing in chopped up candy bars!
This recipe starts with my soft peanut butter cookies, which is practically foolproof. The peanut butter in the cookie dough brings out the peanut flavor of the flaky Butterfinger filling, making these cookies so rich and delicious.
Best of all, these cookies are made in one bowl and they can go straight into the oven – no dough chilling required. If you love peanut butter or butterfingers, this is one cookie recipe you have to try!
See How They’re Made
Ingredient Notes
Peanut Butter
I don’t like to use natural peanut butter in most of my baked goods. It tends to separate and can make cookies crumbly or oily. It’s best to stick with a no-stir peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy. I used creamy peanut butter because it’s what I always keep on hand, but you can use crunchy peanut butter instead.
Butterfingers
Butterfinger baking bits are the easiest to use since they’re pre-chopped and can be dumped straight into the cookie dough. If you’re using actual Butterfinger candy bars, you’ll need about 4 full-sized bars or 10 to 12 fun-sized candy bars to have enough to mix into the cookie dough and to sprinkle on top.
Tips For Perfect Cookies
- Use room temperature ingredients. Bringing the butter and egg to room temperature creates a smoother, more uniform cookie dough. If you need to bring your butter to room temperature quickly, you can slice it into smaller pieces. You can also bring your egg to room temperature faster by placing it in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Thoroughly mix together the butter and sugar. The mixture doesn’t need to be light and fluffy, just fully combined. If you’re using a stand mixer or electric handheld mixer, it should take about 1 to 2 minutes for this to happen.
- Spoon and level your flour, don’t scoop it. Scooping flour out of the bag with your measuring cup compacts it, and you’ll end up using more than the recipe calls for without even realizing it. Always spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife. If you’re new to baking, I highly recommend reading through my post on how to measure flour.
- Use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies. Scooping the cookie dough into equal-sized balls ensures even baking. I used a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop for these cookies because I feel like it’s the perfect size! Feel free to use a larger or smaller scoop, just keep in mind that you will need to adjust the baking time.
- Slightly flatten the dough before baking. Gently press on the tops of the cookie dough balls to flatten them slightly. This will encourage spreading and create a beautiful cookie.
Cookie Troubleshooting
If Your Cookies Turned Out Dry Or Crumbly
This can happen for several different reasons, but I’ve found that these are usually the most common:
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Using too much flour. | Make sure to spoon and level your flour. |
| Baking the cookies at too high of a temperature. | Use an oven thermometer or reduce your oven temperature by 25°F. |
| Using a dark colored baking sheet. | Use a light colored baking sheet or reduce your oven temperature by 25°F. |
| Over baking the cookies. | Reduce the baking time by 1 to 2 minutes for the next batch. |
Tip: If you’ve baked all of your cookies and they seem dry, you can store them in a plastic container with a slice of bread to soften them.
If Your Cookies Spread Too Much In The Oven
This can happen if:
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| The butter is too warm. | Chill the cookie dough for one to two hours. |
| Not enough flour was used. | Try adding an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough. |
| Oven temperature was too low. | Check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer or increase your oven temperature by 25°F. |
| Used a greased or warm baking sheet. | Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Let your baking sheets cool completely before using them again. |
Tip: If your cookies start spreading too much while baking, you can take them out of the oven and use a spoon to gently push the sides in, shaping them back into a smaller circle. Then, pop them back in the oven to finish baking. I’ve done this quite a few times and it works great to save a batch of cookies!
Can I Bake These Into Cookie Bars?
Yes! Simply press the cookie dough into an 8 or 9-inch square pan and bake until lightly golden brown on top. Or you can try my peanut butter blondies instead!
Can I Use Other Candy Bars?
Absolutely! Feel free to use any chocolate candy bars you have left over. Heath, Snickers, Reese’s, Take 5, etc. would all work great. You can use 1 ¼ cups chopped candy bars total.
Don’t forget to leave a comment below if you make these butterfinger cookies! I’d love to hear if you try another type of candy bar in these cookies too. Happy baking!
Butterfinger Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams; 1 stick)
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (190 grams; avoid natural pb)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour spooned & leveled (190 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups chopped butterfingers or butterfinger bits (170 grams, plus more for the tops)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two to three large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined.½ cup unsalted butter,¾ cup packed light brown sugar,¼ cup granulated sugar
- Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.¾ cup creamy peanut butter,1 large egg,1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold or mix in the chopped butterfingers.1 ½ cups all purpose flour,½ teaspoon baking soda,¼ teaspoon salt,1 ¼ cups chopped butterfingers or butterfinger bits
- Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough, and drop onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Sprinkle a few extra pieces of chopped butterfingers on top of each ball of cookie dough. This is optional, but will make them a little prettier!
- Gently press down on each ball of cookie dough to slightly flatten it (not completely, you just don’t want the dough to be a round ball when they go in the oven or they won’t spread as well).
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set. Make sure not to over bake the cookies, they will continue to set up more as they cool.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
