The other day, we went on a hunt.
A Big Hunk Hunt.
We failed miserably, and came home without even one.
They certainly aren’t my favorite candy bar . . . but the hubbie really likes them.
He doesn’t love anything sweet – except for me of course.
hee hee.
So . . . I went on a hunt of my own.
I found Homemade Big Hunk recipes!
Now,
according to the Big Hunk expert . . . these homemade versions are MUCH BETTER!
I’ve made both recipes now, and they are BOTH really good.
However, the easier version with the Marshmallow fluff is our favorite.
That really surprised me!
In fact . . . I’ve made that version twice now.
I added Chocolate to the top of half .
LOOK . . . LOOK BARS!
These really are fast & simple to make.
The wrapping is the time consuming part.
Start by buttering a large sheet pan, and scatter a bottle of Dry Roasted Peanuts over the butter.
You will need 3 small containers of fluff, or one large and one small.
Place the Marshmallow fluff, butter chunks, salt & vanilla in the bowl.
Yes….I’m not using the brand FLUFF . . . the Marshmallow cream works just as well.
It’s o.k. just add it now, even though the recipe tells you a bit differently.
Set it aside while you make the syrup mixture.
It is sugar & Karo Syrup . . . that’s it.
Note: I also buttered the sides of my Old pot.
Stir to combine and place on Medium High Heat. Stir, stir, Stir.
Once it comes to a boil, clip a candy thermometer to the edge of your pan.
Let it boil until the thermometer reaches 280 degrees.
Remove the pan from the heat, and let it sit for two minutes.
DO NOT STIR DURING THE TWO MINUTE WAIT!
Pour the hot syrup over the top of the fluff and butter.
Important:
DO NOT SCRAPE THE PAN – JUST POUR IT OUT UNTIL IT STOPS POURING – AND DISCARD WHAT’S LEFT.
Stir – stir – Stir, until it’s smooth and all blended together.
See . . . mine still needs some stirring, but I stopped to take a picture!
Once it’s nice & smooth, pour it evenly over the nuts.
You could also leave the nuts out – and add those cut up ju ju candies.
That’s also quite good!
If you plan to add chocolate to the top, do it while the candy is still warm.
or,
You can melt a large bar of chocolate like I did . . . or simply melt some chocolate chips.
Once the candy is set, cut into squares and wrap in wax paper.
Store in a container with a lid, and you’ll have perfect bite size BIG HUNKS!
Yum. Yum. and more Yum!
PrintBig Hunk Candy Bars
Ingredients
- 1 larger bottle Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts (lightly salted)
- 3 smaller jars Kraft Marshmallow Cream or FLUFF
- 2 1/4 cups light corn syrup
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted (I add chunks un-melted with the marshmallow cream instead – see pictures)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Butter a large cookie sheet. Scatter peanuts equally on cookie sheet.
- Place marshmallow cream in a LARGE bowl, set aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine corn syrup and sugar. Place over medium high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Clip on candy thermometer. Cook to 280 degrees F, or to soft crack stage. (don’t stir during this time) Remove from heat and let stand 2 minutes undisturbed.
- Without scraping, pour entire batch into marshmallow cream and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add butter, vanilla, and salt and stir with wooden spoon until butter in incorporated.
- Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly across peanuts.
- Allow to stand at room temperature until firm, about 3 hours. Cut and wrap in wax paper.
BIG HUNK NOUGAT CANDY BAR
INGREDIENTS
- Part 1:
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 1/4 c. light corn syrup
- 1/4 c. water
- 3 small egg whites
- Part 2:
- 3 c. sugar
- 3 c. light corn syrup
- 4 t. vanilla
- 1/2 c. melted butter
- 1 t. salt
- 3 c. redskin peanuts
DIRECTIONS
- To make part one, combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook at low boil to the soft ball stage (238°).
- When syrup reaches 230°, beat egg whites until they stand in peaks.
- When syrup reaches 238°, add it in a fine stream to egg whites, beating constantly with electric mixer on medium speed, until mixture becomes thick and is lukewarm.
- To make part two, combine sugar and corn syrup in a 4 qt. heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, to the soft crack stage (275°).
- Meanwhile, place part 1 in a lightly buttered large heavy bowl. Pour hot candy (part 2) over it all at once. Mix with heavy wooden spoon. Slowly add vanilla and melted butter, continuing to stir. Add salt and nuts and mix again. Turn onto a well buttered jelly roll pan. Cut and wrap with waxed paper when cooled.
by Get Off Your Butt and BAKE
Thanks for doing all the research and sharing what you find is the best. I’ve never heard of this candy bar before. Sounds and looks amazing. Going to try this for sure this summer.
My hubs is a Big Hunk lover. I should make this for him.
I have such a sweet tooth lately and this will take care of that I am sure!
This is such a fun sweet treat! Yum!
Big Hunks are my all time favorite!!! I’m so excited to see this recipe today and I can’t wait to make it! Thanks so much for sharing!
I cannot wait to try this. Big Hunk is my favorite candy. Does this recipe have the same properties as the original? Chewy but also breaks when you smack it on the table…
Hi Jeanne,
Yes…they taste almost identical. I cooked my syrup to 280 degrees exactly. Make sure that you test your thermometer.
My second batch seemed a little stiffer than the first, but I still did 280.
They are also really good topped with melted chocolate for a LOOK bar.
Jonna
For the record, what you have in your pictures is NOT marshmallow fluff. Fluff is a brand name, and is a similar though different product.
Hi Janelle,
I’ve tried both, and both work equally the same.
Use Fluff if you can find it…..if not use the other.
For the record, I can’t tell any difference.
Jonna
Have you ever had an ABBA ZABBA? It’s like big hunks but with creamy peanut butter in the middle instead of peanuts. I think it is even made by the same company. I wonder if this would work that way. Also, FYI, you can get almost any candy bar at Winco in I.F.
can u use honey instead of karo syrup
Hi Esha,
I haven’t tried this recipe with honey, but it probably would work just fine.
Jonna
This look amazing! I’m definitely going to make these soon, but I was wondering if Butter Toffee Nuts would be a tasty substitute. Any ideas?
Hi Daylee,
Great idea!
Big hunks are one of my Dad’s favorite Candies so I made this recipe for him and LOVED them! The only problem was that the wax paper kept sticking to the candy, which got kind of annoying (luckily my dad “suffered” through them anyway). Did you have this problem? Should I use a different brand of wax paper? This was my first time to make a wrapped candy, any suggestion would be awesome.
I would use plastic wrap.
We’ve been making these candies since I can remember for a christmas treat. Parchment paper always seems to stick less then waxed paper. Also don’t wrap them on a humid day 😉
Thanks Andrea!
Jonna
Help! I’m wondering why my sugar mixture stuck to the sides of my mixing bowl.. Does anyone have a idea or suggestion? Thanks
****Hi Janett,
I always butter the sides of my pot. Also….make sure you don’t stir at all, during the two minute wait!
You can also butter the sides of your mixing bowl if you had problems with it sticking.
Jonna
Mmmmm these look so sweet and chewy and delicious! Great Job 🙂
I can’t wait to make these. I can’t find Big Hunks very often, usually only when we travel out West somewhere. They just don’t seem to have them anywhere in CT or in the East anywhere. And truthfully it is difficult for me to eat them because I am allergic to peanuts so I have to pick them all out and then take benadryl and use my inhaler. Not a safe practice.
I will be able to make my own and never have to worry about it again. Thank you so much!
Hi Lesa,
You made me laugh! Please be careful!
Homemade Nougat will be much SAFER for you.
My husband love these….I lost a crown eating these, so be careful . . . peanuts or not!
Jonna
Thank you for sharing the Big Hunk recipe with us. We love Big Hunks, and are looking forward to making them. But I have one question. You picture shows butter chunks with the marshmellow mixture, but the recipe does not say how much butter chunks. Would appreciate you reply. Thank you.
Hi Larry,
I found that you really don’t even need to melt the butter as the original recipe states.
I just add the Tablespoons of room-temp butter along with the marshmallow cream in one bowl.
Refer to the pictures that show step by step.
You can either do it this way, or just follow the original recipe. Either will work just fine.
Thank you,
Jonna
I and my daughter are BIG HUNK LOVERS!
We shared a Big Hunk this afternoon and found that we needed another! Lol
I said to my daughter “too bad we can’t just make our own”
She told me to find it on the internet -she is 7.
What a super idea because we found your recipe and now we can’t wait to make our own. But can you tell me, is this version harder to eat, as in extra sticky? I read that you lost a crown trying to eat it.
Hi Kristine,
They are almost the same. Both are really good!
As for the crown, it’s been replaced and hopefully stays in.
Jonna
I wanted to know if the hot Karo mixture and marshmallow cream can be mixed using a mixer instead of by hand for ease due to arthritis?
Hi Rosa,
I’m sure that it will work just fine, as long as you’re using a large powerful mixer.
They are easy!
Jonna
My wife made great batch, however the candy seem to be a little soft and gooey and sorta melted down in room temp from the refrig. Shouldn’t there be a hardening solution to the mix?
thank you.
Robert
Robert-it sounds like you may not have cooked it to a hard crack stage or you have high humidity conditions, which may also effect the outcome of candy. Also, some candy thermometers are wrong! I invested in a better quality thermometer and have been much happier since. You can test your thermometer’s accuracy by putting it in a pot of water just as it reaches a full boil. At sea level, water boils at 212° F. At my altitude, 4300 ft., water boils at roughly 204°F. So make the adjustments accordingly on your thermometer. Since I also live in a very dry climate, I have made slight adjustments to all my candy recipes to compensate. When all else fails, use the bowl of cold water test to determine doneness. It never failed my grandma who, as far as anyone knows, never had a failed batch of candy!
Jill,
Thank you! Perfect!
Jonna
This is on my to do list for tomorrow! Out of curiosity, why do you not scrape down the sides of the pan, but discard it? Thanks for the fun recipe. I usually stop reading recipes that include marshmallow of any kind, but I love the Big Hunk so I had to keep reading. I’m hoping for stellar results. 🙂
Hi Kenzie,
The reason you don’t scrape the sides of the pan when making candy, is so that any remaining sugar crystals that are clinging to the sides of the
pan, don’t turn the whole batch of candy to sugar. It’s the hope that all sugar is dissolved, but once in a while a pesky little bit refuses to melt fully.
Just pour the center, without scraping the sides into the dish or pan. Once that is done . . . you can scrape the sides and eat that part!
Jonna