Since the last two posts have been from the skinny archives, I figured we’re due for a non-skinny appearance. It’s ok – everything in moderation, right? RIGHT? That sounds so much better in my head than when I had these fresh, homemade Twix™™ bars in front of me.
Since I was a kid, Twix™ have always been one of my favorite candy snacks. And when making them I tried to figure out why. Sure it’s three of my favorite sweets on earth, shortbread, caramel and chocolate wrapped into a perfect piece of confectionery heaven. But I think it’s because just when the first bar is gone, and you get all sad like “Aw man, I’m so sad that’s gone” – low and behold, there’s it’s twin brother, right next to him, saying “Don’t be sad, you still have me!”.
Ever since making those devine pecan squares and realizing how easy it is to create a layer of shortbread that can be the base for so many great desserts, I’ve been itching to try to come up with another. And naturally, those Twix™ twins came into my head. An easy layer of shortbread, an even easier layer of caramel and a nice final bath in milk chocolate, well I may never go back to the store bought version.
And now, does anyone want to come over for Twix™? Before I eat them all myself? You had best move fast – I’ve done some serious damage (and have the chocolate stache to prove it).
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 - 11oz bags of soft caramels, unwrapped
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 lb. milk chocolate (bars or chips)
Instructions
1) Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9×13-inch pan with foil, spraying with non-stick cooking spray, leaving enough for a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
2) First make the crust by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in the flour and salt and mix until crumbly.
3) Press the crust into the foil-lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool.
4) While the crust is cooling, melt your caramels over low heat in a saucepan, stirring frequently. As the caramel melts, add 1-2 tablespoons of cream to help smooth the caramel. Add more as needed to thin out the caramel. I used about 3 tablespoons total.
5) When the caramel is melted and smooth, pour it over the shortbread layer and smooth out to cover the entire shortbread layer. Let harden in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour, or until the caramel is stiff to the touch.
6) After caramel is solid, remove from the refrigerator. Remove the shortbread/caramel from the pan by lifting the foil over hang. Flip it over so that the shortbread layer is facing up. With a large knife (serated preferably), cut once vertically down the middle and then cut each half into 6 horizontal bars. You can certainly cut the bars larger or smaller or even in squares if you like depending on your preference. Also keep in mind that the shortbread layer can be very delicate so just cut very gently. Set bars aside.
7) In the meantime, melt your chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave. Let the chocolate cool for about 5 minutes and then dip each bar in the chocolate, let the excess drip off, and then place on a layer of wax paper to dry. Serve at room temperature or freeze for up to a month.
Notes
adapted from About.com
15 comments
These looks amazing! Now that I’ve made homemade shortbread I need to try these!
I used to love the peanut butter twix bars. I know they were not as popular at the carmel, which is why they were discontinued. Any idea how I could try making those?
Oh Matt that’s so funny! I used to love the PB ones too and agree they never really took off as much as the peanut butter ones. I think you could add the PB flavor to these by melting some peanut butter (maybe about 2 cups estimating) and laying that over the shortbread layer before laying the caramel over it, so it would be shortbread, peanut butter and caramel. Perhaps I’ll have to do another version of them! Thanks for the idea!
Couldn’t you add some powdered sugar to the peanut butter, like home made butter cup filling, and leave off the caramel?
That is a great idea Chris. I’ve got “homemade twix 2.0” on my list!
Oh what a brilliant idea!!! I love LOVE peanut butter. Looking forward to Twix 2.0!
BTW I stumbled onto your blog via Pinterest, looking for a Twix bar recipe. I made it before, using a recipe from a magazine that called for Ritz crackers. (A-Mazing!) Lost the recipe, but I am SO glad I came across yours! I pinned, and tried it last night. Husband loved it! My bars didn’t look as pretty as yours though. I put your recipe on my blog as my reference. 🙂
Oh those Twix! I cant get enough of them either – 2.0 version is still on my list, but 1.0 was pretty darn amazing!
[…] I Wanted to Eat. These homemade twix bars. […]
[…] are some DIY Twix bars that are sure to cure that sweet tooth. These cookies are better than what you can get in a store […]
I finally tried these today! The flavors are to die for! The shortbread and caramel steps are easy and I used the bags of the caramel bits so didn’t have to unwrap all the candies. I used a bag of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips (11.5 oz bag was not quite enough chocolate). My final execution tastes amazing and I’m pretty sure the husband and I are in a sugar coma right now. They don’t look too pretty though. How did you get chocolate on all sides? What tools or technique did you use? I was making a big but tasty mess so ended up just dipping the caramel tops and sides in the chocolate and leaving the shortbread bottoms uncoated. When I took it out of the pan and flipped it over and put it on a flexible cutting mat to cut it (made some small rectangles and some squares and ended up with 24 pieces). The caramel stuck to the mat and the shortbread was delicate so some split and broke. For the broken ones I dipped the bottom in chocolate then put on the top and dipped that. I think when I try them again, I will use a jelly roll pan for a thinner shortbread layer.
So glad you liked them Julie! I agree, flavors amazing – looks were not as much. I actually used a pair of metal tongs to dip the bars in the chocolate – it allowed me to submerge/cover them fully in the chocolate and them pull them out with the tongs. I agree though – the shortbread can be delicate and the Carmel is a tough texture wise being sticky and such. I think next time I may even cut the shortbread into squares/bars and THEN dip the top of each in the melted caramel and then once the caramel has hardened, dip in the chocolate. I think they can definitely be perfected but as you said they are just so delish that it almost doesn’t matter what thy look like! Although I love a dessert that is just as pretty as it is yummy!
I brought these to work and they were a huge hit and gone instantly!
[…] Homemade Twix Bars (andtheycookedhappilyeverafter.com) […]
[…] recipe at: https://www.andtheycookedhappilyeverafter.com […]
I haven’t made these yet, but I think instead of trying to make them look like candy bars, why not just spread the chocolate over caramel in the pan after the caramel cools and cut them like bars? The taste is the same, but better presentation.
Comments are closed.