Homemade Twix Bars

Twix bars have been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and the love affair continues. I love layers and textures in food and Twix delivers it all. Buttery shortbread, chewy caramel, and a delicious layer of chocolate.

I'd had a homemade version from King Arthur Flour on my Pinterest board for quite some time when my son spotted them and requested we make them.

Just like a Twix, these have a  rich shortbread crust and a golden, creamy caramel center, then can be covered in milk, dark, or white chocolate. That's the beauty of this homemade version. You can vary the chocolate depending on your tastes and if you're like me and are pressed for time, you can skip the dipping and just cut them into nice little squares. (Because of this, I didn't use the shortening but if I was dipping them,  I would use it to thin the chocolate and make dipping them easier.)

Even though there are three separate layers, they use minimal ingredients and the actual hands on time is pretty short. The most time spent will be waiting for them to cook, chill and of course eat!! King Arthur  has a whole step by step post with photos and great hints for dipping that can be found here.

Homemade Twix Bars

*Plan Ahead. This recipe needs time to cool and chill in the refrigerator*

Ingredients

Shortbread layer

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Caramel layer

• 2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate layer

• 3 cups chopped milk, dark chocolate or white chocolate, melted
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional. I didn't use this)

Directions

1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.

2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.

3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.

4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.

5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.

6) FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.

7) FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER: Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat. If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set. Cut into 2" x 2" squares to serve. It's best to store these bars in the refrigerator.

8) These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix ® bars. After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars. Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours. 

Posted by: Sallie