Chubby Hubby Fudge — It’s An Oxymoron, Because It’s Healthy!
This sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy Healthy Chubby Hubby Fudge was inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream. You know, the one with chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzels all swirled into vanilla ice cream? Yeahhh, definitely not the healthiest stuff on the planet, but most definitely 100% addicting, yes? Yes… and that’s why I made this fudge. It has all the flavors of the ice cream, sans the “chubby hubby” repercussions 😉 — this Oxymoron Chubby Hubby Fudge is refined sugar free and high protein, with an option to be gluten free too!
Made with natural peanut butter, protein powder, and none of the refined sugar, corn syrup, butter, or artificial ingredients, this Chubby Hubby Fudge is the ULTIMATE snack for the chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzel-lovers out there.
Pretty sure that’s all of us………
Or should I be calling this “Muscle Head Fudge” instead, since each piece has a whopping 11g of protein??
*happy dances*
While fudge is satisfying by itself, the added crunch from the pretzels will satisfy the snack-monster in you. Sometimes you just need something crunchy… and chewy… and sweet and salty… but also healthy, ALL at the same time.
Or maybe that’s just me being needy. Or ravenous. Or both.
Am I the only one who is constantly ravenous??
*awkward laugh*
Can your inner snack-monster resist these??
I don’t think so 😉
Healthy Chubby Hubby Fudge
Ingredients
BASE:
- 168g (½ cup) Agave Nectar
- 96g (6 tbs) Natural Peanut Butter
- 60g (⅔ cup) Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
- 2 cups Chopped Pretzels (whole grain, spelt, gluten free, etc.)
FILLING:
- 147g (¼ cup + 3 tbs) Agave Nectar
- 96g (6 tbs) Natural Peanut Butter
- 90g (1 cup) Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
TOPPINGS:
- 2 oz 70% Cacao Chocolate (melted)
- ⅓ cup Chopped Pretzels
Instructions
FOR THE BASE:
- Line an 8x8″ brownie pan with parchment paper both ways and set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the syrup and peanut butter.
- Stir in the protein powder, then fold in the chopped pretzels. Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan, place a sheet of parchment paper on top, and flatten with your hands. Place the pan in the freezer while you make the filling.
FOR THE FILLING:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl (I used the same bowl used for the base), stir together the syrup and peanut butter.
- Stir in the protein powder. Scoop mixture over the base and flatten it out.
FOR THE TOPPINGS:
- Drizzle about half of the chocolate over the filling layer, sprinkle with the chopped pretzels, pressing them into the fudge, then drizzle with the remaining chocolate.
- Cover and refrigerate for ~3+ hours to firm up, then slice with a sharp knife. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
LOl muscle head hubby fudge….funny 😛 Love that you made a tasty and healthy versioon!
What kind of protein powder do you recommend? This looks delicious but I’ve never liked any of the ones I’ve tried 🙁
Alice-
I would recommend whey protein powder, my favorites are:
1) Optimum Nutrition- http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition-Standard-Natural-Vanilla/dp/B003KD8B14/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1340118873&sr=1-2&keywords=optimum+nutrition+whey+protein
2) Jay Robb- http://www.amazon.com/Jay-Robb-Whey-Protein-Chocolate/dp/B001LIXRLE/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1340118814&sr=1-2
-Jess
So much peanut butter.. love it! 😀
What can I substitute the agave with?
TheOneMarina-
You can use pure maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, coconut nectar etc, just note that the thicker sweeteners may need an extra tablespoon or so.
-Jess
Hi Jessica! I’ve been following you for a while, but rarely comment (I think I have once). I love your recipes and your photos! I’m excited to try some of your recipes and will report back when I do!
Thanks for the comment Lauren, I tend to do the same thing on my favorite blogs too 🙂
I hope you like the recipes you try out, and if you think there could be any improvements let me know!
mmm, amazing job as always jessica!!
Hi Jessica!
I’ve been reading for a long time, but have never commented. While I love your blog, I’m a whole-foods kinda gal and have never really found my way around artificial sweeteners. I understand them, they just don’t LIKE me!
Anyhow! I loveloveLOVE this recipe. I made it yesterday, though made a few changes. First of all, gluten-free pretzels are REALLY expensive and full of ingredients I can’t pronounce. Instead, I used a whole-grain GF cereal mixed with nuts and added salt. More calories, for sure, but super crunchy and satisfying.
Also, I forgot to pick up agave. Oops! I used a mixture of honey and coconut-sugar simple syrup to sweeten. Oh, and I used unsweetened dark chocolate instead of sugarfree milk chocolate. Just a *few* mods 😉
And oh. my. god. I could eat the whole pan. In one sitting! I have to exercise some SERIOUS willpower.
Bravo on such a perfect recipe. I went for an extra run today, just to justify having a square of this baby as a recovery snack.
Cheers!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked the recipe, and those substitutions sound great. PB-Cereal bars sound pretty darn good right about now 🙂 I’m sorry you couldn’t find healthy GF pretzels, I’ve seen quite a few brands around where I live that look wholesome to me. And bravo to YOU on going for an extra run, that’s definitely justification to me too 😉
This looks amazing. I’m not a fan of pretzels, I get ill every time I eat them – gluten free or regular, both do the same. But I think I’ll make this and substitute some puffed grains and a small handfull of chopped nuts for the crunch factor.
Oh no! It’s possible you may be sensitive to yeast if you get sick… hopefully not though. Puffed grains + nuts sounds great, K (the commenter above) made this with cereal + nuts. Hope you like the recipe 🙂
Hi Jessica!
I have loved every single recipe of yours that I’ve tried! I routinely make my own protein bars (have been for years) but yours are THE BEST. I just made our fourth batch of these. Kashi GoLean is yummy in place of the pretzels, by the way…
And I’ve pitted a couple pounds of cherries to try the blondies out later this week…
I just wanted to say thanks for making our lives so tasty!
Jenny-
I’m so glad you liked these! Kashi GoLean sounds like a great replacement, love that cereal. Hope you like the blondies too 🙂
-Jess
Hi Jessica, just found your blog and I am equally parts amazed and inspired! I’ve been exploring some of your buying suggestions on Amazon, and there’s a product that seems to have zillions of great reviews, and I wondered if you’d used it in any recipes. It’s the powdered peanut butter, PB2? I don’t have the scientific-level knowledge of baking to do my own trials, and I thought if anyone would know if this product could be useful in healthy baking it would be you! I realize it has sugar, but I’m wading into the lifestyle-change pool rather than diving in and quickly finding myself over my head and discouraged. Make sense?
Aw thanks! Yes, I’ve heard of PB2 🙂 even though it contains white sugar, it’s a very small amount so I would definitely recommend it if you want to start incorporating peanuts into your diet. Regular peanut butter is healthy too, but only if it’s natural and doesn’t contain partially hydrogenated oils.
I haven’t used PB2 in any of my recipes because I’ve never bought it… I’m kind of scarred from the Better n Peanut Butter experience I had years back, yuck. But now that you remind me, I might be willing to try it 🙂
I’m pretty sure PB2 would work in this recipe, just make sure the PB2 isn’t too liquidy. Good luck!
I’m a peanut butter chocolate freak. These look amazing!
Hello!
Love this recipe…what can I use to substitute vanilla protein powder?
I’m not sure if there is a good substitute for the protein powder, but you can try a combination of oat flour and almond flour and maybe even some coconut flour. I would add one tablespoon until you get a fudge-like texture (shouldn’t be wet or sticky). Hope this works out!
🙂
made these for a pot luck for my class and they all loved it! No one will ever know that they’re chocked full of protein;D
I’m glad the recipe was a success 🙂
And you’re right, everyone thinks this is just fat and sugar when it’s not!
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loveeeee this recipe! do you happen to know the macros per slice?
I just made this for the THIRD time in one week. My husband and dad devour them before I can get seconds!! So delicious.
Can you provide fat and carb numbers per serve as well with recipes? This looks and sounds delicious!!
I didn’t calculate the nutrition facts for this recipe but if you want to make a nutrition label for yourself, this is the program I use:
http://www.shopncook.com/nutritionFactsLabel.html 🙂
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Oh sweet holy jesus I need to cram my face with this fudge.
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