Candy News, Peanut Butter Candy

Why Atkinson’s Peanut Butter Bars?

September 23, 2011 by

retro peanut butter candyDo you crave peanut butter? Do you hoard peanut-butter-filled wonders in your freezer? Do you keep some in the fridge to ensure suitable textures for all nature of cravings? Have the mothers of children screamed at you for the trail of allergen-rife wrappers you leave in your wake?

I understand.

Peanut Butter Candy is not the most socially approved preoccupation. You can’t just go around eating most candies filled with peanut butter all the time. It’s rude to steal them from your co-workers. It’s greasy and melty and will do terrible things to your body. So the only real options are to force yourself into moderation or to feel guilty about giving in. Well, there’s a better solution.

Because They’re Modest

Peanut Butter Bars are out there waiting for you to discover them. They’re a dark horse of the candy world. Maybe you’ve had them before and forgotten. These crunchy little guys have been made by Atkinson (the makers of Chick-O-Stick) since 1932. But their nondescript packaging, absence from mass-media advertising, and spotty availability add up to a whole lot of people being unaware of their brilliance.

For Texture Reasons

Peanut Butter Retro CandyPeanut Butter Bars have a texture similar to the wafer-like crisp peanut butter of Butterfinger or Zagnut, but are more light and airy. For some reason not immediately apparent they’re coated on the outside with a thin, almost transparent, layer of white candy. But I trust these Atkinson people — this sugar coating is obviously crucial to all order in the universe. It enhances the texture and doesn’t mess with the robust nutty flavor. The layers of crunchy peanut butter splinter apart when you bite, filling your mouth with tiny wafers of goodness. There’s something substantial about eating these. Where peanut butter cups just kind of disappear no matter how tiny you make your nibbles, you get to experience a peanut butter bar.

The Ingredients are Real Words

Peanut Butter Bars smell like peanut butter cups, only more natural. With just 6 ingredients, it’s easy to understand what they’re made of. They’re not labeled gluten free, but as an avoider of gluten, I’m not afraid to eat them. They have no gluten-containing ingredients, and the package says they’re made in a facility that processes milk and soy, but not wheat.

For Health and Wellness!

It’s a total bummer to spend all your candy karma points in one place. And when you love peanut butter, that’s easy to do. Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups are bomb, and they have their own unique textural delights. But a serving size of 5 pieces packs in 15 grams of fat. Zagnuts are nice, but a standard-size bar has 9 fat grams. A Snickers Peanut Butter Squared has 13 fat grams plus all those extra ingredients. That’s all well and good and worth it for people who crave the chocolate-plus-peanut-butter combination.

But I’m concerned with the purists of the PB-loving community. All we really need is the peanut butter, but we prefer a more interesting delivery system than a spoon. Atkinson’s Peanut Butter Bars knock it out of the park. These M-80s of peanut butter explosion have 1 gram of fat in a 2-piece serving. So if you eat the typical candy-bar allotment of 200ish calories, you can have 8 peanut butter bars, and they’ll only contain 4 grams of fat!

So, basically, what I’m telling you is a way to indulge your peanut-butter candy craving more often and with less guilt.

And Bonus!

What better way to stave off hypoglycemia? Peanut Butter Bars are individually wrapped and stand up pretty well to heat, so you can totally keep them in your pockets. They’re even flat and quiet enough to eat in class (as long as you can resist biting them. You’re already indulging a craving! You don’t need to bite them, too!)

Of course, you’ll still have to pick up your wrappers. You are obsessed with a Big-8 allergen, after all.

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9 Comments

  • Reply Ramona June 29, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    Delicious. Also vegan.

  • Reply Karen Martin July 13, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    I remember as a child, my favorite candy bar was the peanut butter bar, but it was a large regular size candy bar. What happened to it

    • Reply Lisa July 13, 2017 at 8:36 pm

      I remember it exactly! I was given one for being honest about money at a young age, by a gas station attendant. A lesson I’ve never forgotten!

  • Reply RICK January 16, 2017 at 2:26 am

    YES – BEEN EATING YOUR CANDY SINCE CHILDHOOD & HAVE GIVEN MANY, MANY POUNDS AWAY UP HERE IN NACOGDOCHES. IN RETURN, I’VE GOTTEN A BIG OL’ BAG OF:
    – PEANUT BUTTER BARS … &
    – CHICK – O – STICKS
    UNFORTUNATELY, I’VE DEVELOPED A BAD ALLERGY TO ///
    RED 40 !! – – – CAN YOU TELL ME IF RED 40 IS IN MY ABOVE-FAVORITES ?? – – THANK YOU VERY MUCH . . . . RF-
    fosh1@att.net

  • Reply Donna Wylie December 31, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    Please tell me how many calories are in one piece of Atkinson’s peanutbutter bar? I loved them as a child. Now I love them as a senior citizen.

  • Reply Karen March 19, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    With all the NATURAL preservatives available, why is BHT being used?

  • Reply Perry Evans January 20, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    As a kid I remember the stripes being on the large bar but was it ever on the small bit size pieces. I have been eating them 60 years and are still my favorite today. Just remember them being on the wrapper????

  • Reply Melody November 2, 2023 at 2:15 pm

    I absolutely love these little gems. Have been a favorite of mine for decades. Great way to satisfy your sweet tooth craving. Just hard to stop eating them once you start. They are truly addictive.

    • Reply Jonah Half November 7, 2023 at 3:41 pm

      We agree!

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