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These outrageously delicious Homemade Twix Bars have a shortbread crust, a decadent layer of caramel, and a chocolate glaze. The perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

If you’re a Twix Bar fan, you’ll love having these gooey caramel bars for an unforgettable indulgence.

Overhead view of 3 twix bars stacked on a small square white plate.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 Ingredient Notes
3 How to Make
4 Recipe Tips
5 Frequently Asked Questions
6 You May Also Like:
7 Homemade Twix Bars

Why You Must Make

  • Being someone who could pour caramel sauce right into my mouth, this layered caramel chocolate bar recipe was a no-brainer when it was time to find the perfect recipe for our annual cookie exchange.
  • None of the steps in this recipe is difficult. The biggest challenge is cutting them into neat bars since the shortbread crust tends to crumble. But this only seems to be a problem when you need to take photos, not if you need to eat them!
  • There’s the buttery shortbread base, the sweet and gooey caramel center, and a milk chocolate topping. Three textures, three flavors, and two thumbs up!

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Flour, Real Vanilla Extract (affiliate link)
  • Butter – Cold butter will make a better shortbread crust. Salted butter is fine.
  • Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels (affiliate link) – I prefer these over Kraft caramels, unwrapped of course!
  • Heavy Cream – Will help make a rich caramel layer
  • Milk Chocolate (affiliate link) – I used Ghirardelli or Baker’s brand Bars, but chocolate chips are an alternative.
  • Vegetable Shortening (affiliate link) – optional, I used to make the chocolate topping glossy.

How to Make

There are three layers in these bars, so three main steps.

  1. First, using either a pastry blender or a food processor, make the shortbread crust.
  2. Press the crust onto the bottom of the baking pan and bake. PRO-Tip: Line your baking pan with Nonstick Foil (affiliate link) for easy removal from the pan for slicing (use the foil as a sling) and to prevent the caramel from sticking to the pan.
  3. Next, melt the unwrapped caramels with the cream and spread over the cooled crust. Chill.
  4. Finally, melt the chocolate and shortening and spread over the chilled caramel layer. Use a frosting tool to make a striated design across the top of the chocolate before it cools, if desired.
  5. Chill bars until the topping is set. Slice and serve.
Homemade Twix Bars on a white ceramic tray.

Recipe Tips

  • Lining the baking pan with Non-Stick Foil (affiliate link) minimizes the sticking that comes from the gooey caramel layer. It also helps you to remove the bars from the pan to a cutting board to slice them into squares.
  • Using a pastry blender to make the crust layer helps disperse small pieces of butter throughout the dough. This helps make a more tender crust.
  • Using bagged caramels for the filling helps avoid having to make caramel from scratch. I recommend using Werther’s soft caramels.
  • The chocolate layer can be smoothed on with a small offset spatula. I used a (Amazon affiliate link) Cake Decorating Tool to make the lines across the top for some visual interest.
  • Chill before cutting so the caramel has a chance to solidify. I like using a hot, dry knife to cleanly cut through the chocolate and the caramel. Wipe clean between slices if the knife gets dirty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Twix Bars?

If you’re not familiar with Twix Bars, they came into existence in 1967 in the United Kingdom and made their way to the U.S. in 1979. Produced by Mars, Inc., the original Twix was a biscuit topped with caramel and milk chocolate. Now there are various flavor combinations along with different sizes and packaging options.

How Should You Store These Bars?

Caramel Bars offer a challenge when storing, since the gooey caramel can ooze a bit once they’re cut. I recommend storing these in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
They can be frozen for up to 2 months, but the chocolate layer may not be pristine when they’re defrosted. Defrost in the refrigerator in the same container in which they were frozen. Note: Once the bars are frozen, they can be stacked with a layer of parchment paper between the bars.

You May Also Like:

This recipe was first shared in January 2013. Photos and text were updated in 2021.

Stay in touch through social media @ Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Don’t forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes! And if you love the results, please give it a 5-star rating in the recipe card.

Overhead view of 3 twix bars stacked on a small square white plate
The Recipe:

Homemade Twix Bars

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Yield 24 bars

Decadent shortbread bars topped with caramel and milk chocolate.

4.9 Stars (87 Reviews)

Ingredients

Shortbread layer:

  • 2 sticks cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour

Caramel layer:

  • 20 ounces Werther's Original Chewy caramels, unwrapped of course!
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate layer:

  • 18 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli Bars but chocolate chips are an alternative)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional, I use to make the topping more glossy)

Instructions

  1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9" x 13" pan with nonstick foil. Set aside.
  2. Using a pastry blender cut butter into the sugar. Use fingers to break up the butter, till the mixture resembles cornmeal.
  3. Add vanilla. Add the flour.
  4. Mix till flour is incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly. Alternatively, you can mix in the food processor.
  5. Press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.
  6. Prick the crust all over with a fork.
  7. Bake 15 minutes until the crust is lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown. Set it aside to cool completely.
  8. For the caramel layer: Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. (or use the microwave, stopping and stirring at 30-60 second intervals till smooth and melted). Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.
  9. For the Chocolate Layer: Melt the chocolate and shortening by microwaving using 30-second increments, stopping and stirring till melted and smooth. Spread over caramel with an offset spatula. I also used a plastic frosting tool to make optional striations while the chocolate was warm.
  10. Let cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to minimize the caramel oozing.

Notes

You can also use Kraft caramels, but I prefer the taste of Werther's.

I've tested a number of crusts, but they all seem to crumble a bit when the bars are sliced. They will still taste amazing!

The caramel will ooze, so these are best stored in the refrigerator. Cut into squares right before serving if you want the cleanest slices.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1 bar
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 338Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 4g

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© LIz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Bar Cookies