Ben and I have several nature trails nearby that we like to take our nightly strolls on. One has a short detour to a grocery store where we often stop to get mid-walk treats at.
My treat choices range from the good (a fresh peach) to the bad (split a small pack of Nibs) to the ugly (pouch of sour gummy worms – usually occasionally forking over the green & orange worms to Ben.)
Sometimes, like last night, I’m so satisfied from dinner that I get nothing at all. Not Ben though, oh no. Last night he got home from work late and missed dinner, but since we were going to lose the light if we waited much longer to take our walk, he took one for the team and decided to eat afterwards.
Naturally he was starving by the time we hit the grocery store detour, and grabbed the first thing he saw after walking through the double doors – Little Debbie Nutty Bars.
The BIG PACK (which I didn’t even notice that until I took this picture!) What does one man (I can’t eat Little Debbie – OD’d on ‘em in grade school) need 24 Nutty Bars for?! You know what, nevermind. He got the big pack.
He proceeded to rip open the package like a ravenous beast when we got home, while I curiously glanced at the nutritionals.
Ummmm…OMG!
330 calories, 20 grams of fat and 8 grams of saturated fat in one, tiny little 2-bite (Ben shoves each stick in his mouth at once) package!
With partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil with TBHG to preserve flavor in the ingredient list? What the heck is TBHG!?
I’ll tell you what it is – it’s something I don’t want my husband eating. I’ll need him around for least 70 more years to finally get one by him. 
Knowing he loves his Nutty Bars oh-so-much though, I decided to try and create a healthier, homemade version for him to enjoy WITHOUT funky ingredients!
The peanut butter and chocolate parts of the Nutty Bar are totally clutch, but the most unique and charming thing about ‘em is their crispy texture. To replicate, I picked out 3 potential replacements for the sugar-laden wafers used in the Nutty Bar, then had Ben pick out his favorite.
I started with Kavli Crispy Thins (similar to Wasa Crackers.)
These babies have 50 calories in 3 sheets,
and only contain whole rye flour, water, sugar and salt. Cool.
The crispy thins are just like the name implies – crispy and THIN – but not crumbly.
I spread a very thin layer of peanut butter on one cracker and repeated two more times, ending with a fourth cracker on top.
See?
Then I did the same with my next crispy subject.
Saltines.
I made sure to only apply a thin layer of peanut butter, otherwise I’d pretty much have a Tagalong. Which, don’t get me wrong, is not the worst thing in the world, but that’s a different blog post. 
My third and final crunchy item was a Graham Cracker.
I knew these probably wouldn’t replicate the taste or texture of a Nutty Bar – I just thought they’d be super delicious smeared with peanut butter and wrapped in chocolate.
Everyone’s assembled…
time to coat in some chocolate, yo!
I learned from my past mistakes and used Almond Bark to coat these puppies with.
I melted a couple cubes in a long loaf pan for 2 minutes in the microwave, stirring every 20-30 seconds, then laid out a wax-paper lined baking sheet to place the Nutty Bars on after they were coated in chocolate.
Dip and roll, then wipe off the excess with your finger. Super easy, actually!
Lay on the baking sheet,
then pop into the fridge for 15 minutes to set.
If you have too much time on your hands you can cough, score the classic Nutty Bar lines on top, cough with a knife.
Ben’s home from work and ready for his taste test!
After a quick change,
and a cold glass of milk,
he dug in.
First up: Saltines.
Pro: “Salty.”
Con: “Not enough chocolate flavor.”
I think the thickness of the crackers detracted from the peanut and chocolate flavor. NEXT!
Graham Crackers
Pro: “Tasty.” (…)
Con: “Not chocolaty enough.”
Similar to the saltines, I think the flavor of the graham cracker overpowered the chocolate and peanut butter flavors. NEXT!
Crispy Thins.
“Oh yeah, I’d eat these…”
Ding ding ding ding!!! We have a winner!!!!
Homemade Nutty Bars with Crispy Thins, peanut butter and almond bark coating, kicks Little Debbie’s (sorry Dad) ass!
Aaaand, he’s over it. Texting with his friends. HAHAHAHA.
Closing remarks: “Yeah, I’d eat all those f*%&ers again.”
Now if I can only get him to eat anything but Skippy. Baby steps…
~~~~~
What’s one junk-type food you can’t give up even though you know how bad it is for you?
Ben says “Chips. Of all forms.” I say doughnuts. GAHHHHHHHH I LOVE DOUGHNUTS. And candy.
Where do you find the Kavli Crispy Thins? Would that be a Hy-Vee thing? They look delish and I didn’t OD on little debbie growing up so I from time-to-time like to indulge in the snacks, but a healthier option would be great because a crunch bar has less calories and probably less “stuff” than a star crunch!
Yep – HyVee or Dahls!
This was such a creative and fun post– I tried to predict the winner while reading, but I was wrong!:)
Love it!!! I’m a kid at heart – I love cake (esp. wedding cake and birthday cake) and ice cream!!!
Although. . . coming in at a close second is Lofthouse cookies (O.M.G. GOOD!) and cheesecake. . ..
My hubby LOVES Nutty Bars, too! I may have to try this sometime for him!
I used to be a total Nutty Bar addict! I make something similar with rice cakes. I don’t have time to make them pretty so I often end up nuking a heaping tablespoon of pb or sunbutter in a bowl with a hand full of semi-sweet choc chips and a dash of salt and dip my rice cakes in it. The dash of salt is essential for total sweet/salty/nutty/chocolate satisfaction
buttered popcorn is my downfall though – I use an air popper but have to drizzle real melted butter on it or it just isn’t right.
sugar – and bagels (do they count?) Brueggers – has to be the best – unless you’re in the city?! Do you have them in Iowa?
Yep!
Have you tried Skippy Natural? It still has some sugar and palm oil but none of those nasty hydrogenated oils. Fools my 8yr. old. =)
Did you figure out the nutrional values on these? I would be curious to know.
No I didn’t, since I didn’t measure the peanut butter or amount of chocolate that went onto each one.
I’m with you…doughnuts. Casey’s General Store doughnuts to be exact. They are the devil.
I am the dork that puts flax in my cookies, uses whole wheat flour in everything and drops the sugar by half in most recipes. Where I lose it? Self serve FroYo. I am the girl with at least 3 different flavors, at least 3 different candy toppings – reeses, cookie dough, oreos, and caramel and chocolate syrup on top. Oh and the cup size is about the size of my head. That’s what we call a bad, bad. Also can eat half a container of dark chocolate almonds and barely feel guilty. PS. These nutty bars look rad.
I hear you on those doughnuts. I also couldn’t live without cupcakes, ice cream, and the occasional trip to Popeyes!
I have been obsessed with this post since I first read it. I stopped at the trusty HyVee on the way home and it was a no-go on the Kavli Chrispy thins, so I grabbed a package of Brown Rice Crackers (pretty sure they now count as a side dish instead of dessert). I subbed the peanut butter for sunflower butter and used the Baker’s Dark Chocolate dipping tub (re: Too lazy for Almond Bark). Way yum!!! Actually a little too crispy, but maybe if I had let it sit for longer than two minutes it would have mellowed a little. Definitely a hit.
Loving recipe makeovers
I can finally feel good (well, better) about eating my Nutty Bars! Hoooray
It driives me bonkers when people are like “oh my husband loved this” or “oh my boyfriend loved this” … ***k ‘em!
Find someone who shares your tastes, please. Did YOU like it?
I don’t like Nutty Bars, so I made these for him.
Hey Kristin!
Perhaps I missed it, but did you purchase the Kavli Crispy Thins at Trader Joe’s or somewhere else? REALLY want to make these..
Also caught your recipe segment on CH 13 this morning with Megan Salois(SP?) and the delectable mozzarella stuffed burgers that I remember you featured in one of your posts awhile ago. You looked adorable and your finished product AMAZING!! So thrilled to have caught this segment and my favorite Iowa Girl!!
Thank you so much Lacey!!
I got the crispy thins at Dahls, but I know they sell them at HyVee too. You could also use Wasa brand!
These would be even better with Butterscotch Peanut Butter. Our local dairy farm makes all these different flavors of natural pb, and butterscotch is the best.
Would love to see some of the details on the trail hikes you guys do. Always looking for new places to stretch my legs.
I loved loved loved nutty buddy bars growing up. I have got to try these. I’ve never seen crispy thins. Can you buy these anywhere?
Yep, pretty much every grocery store should have them!
[...] Any combination of peanut butter & chocolate usually makes me happy though. As a kid, I used to eat Little Debbie Nutty Bars. I also loved them, and every once in a while indulge in them now. Recently on I was perusing through some food blogs and found Iowa Girl Eats had made Homemade Nutty Bars. [...]
I couldn’t live without Nutty Bars when I was in middle/high school. My mom would buy them in bulk (those and Devil Dogs) as my after school snacks…. and I won’t lie I’d eat them for breakfast.
I have several guilty junk food items I can’t live without… though as an adult I have more self control then I did as a kid. # 1 Chips of any kind #2 Sour Punch Straws (seriously what am I 12?)
[...] Homemade Nutty Bars from Iowa Girl Eats [...]
[...] on transforming myself into a Little Debbie, I stumbled across Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats, who made Nutty Bars 3 Ways for her Nutty Bar fiend. I followed her advice and made the one her boyfriend liked the best… [...]
I am new to your blog and just saw this, but I promise you using Ritz Crackers are even better! Give it a try next time, it’ll be worth it.
Yes, I got some as a gift made with RITZ and it is exactly what I would go for. BOMB!
[...] Homemade Nutty Bars from Iowa Girl Eats [...]