Pastry School Diaries: Fluffernutter & Kit Kat almost Fudge Bars

These bars are 100% my husbands fault. He brought home a big bag of mini Kit Kat Bars...if he would have brought one bar home I could have left it alone...but when I see a unopened bag of anything candy related my first reaction is to chop them up and throw them into some sort of chocolate concoction.

And here we are, Fluffernuter & Kit Kat almost Fudge Bars. I know what a ridiculous name but really that's what they are.

If you are not familiar with The Fluffernutter, oh boy do we all feel sorry for you. Well, I guess it's probably an American thing anyway. I made my husband his first Fluffernutter a couple of years ago and he was like 'where has this thing been all my life?!'

Ok, The Fluffernutter is B.A.S.I.C.

1. White Bread, preferably Wonder Bread (yep off to a bad start already)
2. Peanut Butter
3. Marshmallow fluff

Don't let the simplicity of this yummy sandwich beast fool you. This is one of those treats that's perfect for hangovers or also great when you're sick or have no food left in the house. Ok, and good for college kids and 7 year olds.

So what do Fluffernutters & Kit Kat Bars have in common? Well they're both awesome so why not marry the two? Also I had half a jar (the big jar, not the 7 oz. size) of marshmallow fluff left over from my husbands S'mores Cake, so I needed to quickly use it up before I ate it spoonful by spoonful watching Martha Stewart in the morning.

I've been wanting to do some sort of Fluffernutter inspired recipe, but then I had these damn Kit Kat Bars in the house so I figured what the heck let's see what happens.

The addition of marshmallow fluff in this recipe gave the bars somewhat of a light, nougat texture which was really interesting. It's lighter and not as dense as fudge, but just as sweet.

I added the candy topping because the bars alone looked a bit ugly on top. The mixture thickened up quickly so you don't have too much time to spread the top to look pretty. It's okay, give them a chocolaty peanut-buttery hat...who's gonna complain about that?!?

Fluffernutter & Kit Kat almost Fudge Bars

printable version

For the bars
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup (4 oz.) melted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons peanut butter (chunky or smooth, doesn't matter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 jar (7oz. or something close to that) marshmallow fluff
30 individual sticks of Kit Kat Bars (I used a 250 gram bag), chopped by hand, not pulverized...you want nice sized chunks to bite into. I would think any candy would actually work in this recipe. Reese's peanut butter cups or Snickers would also be de-lish.

For the candy topping
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used chunky but if you want a smooth, lump free top use the creamy kind)

Directions
Combine sugar, cocoa, butter, & milk in a large pan and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and marshmallow fluff. Stir until smooth and creamy.

Add chopped Kit Kat Bars and stir to combine.

Quickly transfer mixture to a greased (I used non-stick cooking spray) 13 x 9 baking pan and spread evenly with an off-set spatula.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you prepare the topping.

To prepare the topping, combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a heat safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stirring halfway through. Stir again and microwave for an additional 30 seconds if needed. Stir until the mixture is smooth and all the chocolate and peanut butter is melted. Mine was lumpy from the peanuts in the peanut butter.