Nobody Better Lay a Finger on My Butterfinger Cookies

 When I was like 11 years old, Butterfinger was my FAVORITE candy bar.  So crispy-buttery!  So crumbly yet stick-in-your-teethy!  And I was more than a little proud when Butterfinger won the sponsorship of none other than Bart Simpson.  I knew Bart had good taste.

 

But I don't know when was the last time I bought and ate a Butterfinger.  I guess I probably had some at Halloween some time or another.  It's kinda got Halloween colors with that orangey center.

 This month I've been making a concerted effort to plow through my backlog of cooking magazines that have been piling up under my coffee table for a year.  Or two.  I tear out the recipes I want and file them in the appropriate folder in my recipe file box.  And dream that someday I'll make them all.

 But some skip to the front of the queue by nature of being either seasonal, intriguing, or downright irresistible.  This recipe was all three.  

 As you can see, they're a bit thin.  But they are very soft and homemade-tasting.  And chock-full of broken Butterfinger bars.  Tip: You don't even need to chop them because they fall apart easily.  I just put them in a Ziploc bag and very gently tapped them with a hammer.  That's all you need to do.  And voila, YUM in a cookie!

Butterfinger Cookies (print recipe)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 ounces Butterfinger candy bars, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

2.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add egg whites; beat well.  Blend in peanut butter and vanilla.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in candy bars.  Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Recipe from some Taste of Home magazine from a long time ago