muhahauha
I don’t know why, but that just felt appropriate to open with being 6 days from Halloween and all.
Evil cackles are the perfect compliment to many situations, don’t you think?
Such as:
– When you’re bored at work and want to make coworkers think you’re up to something (aren’t you always??) See Dwight Kurt Schrute III.
– Ditto above, but for your significant other/family members.
– Obviously, evil scheming is one of them, which I did lots of as a teenager with my sister Kristi and girlfriends. (Don’t worry sis, your secrets are safe with me…..unless I ever write a novel. mhauhauha!)
– When you hide behind a wall and then jump out to scare your pet or husband (not that I do this or anything…)
– When you send your spouse to work with salty cookies…on April Fools Day
– When kids ring your doorbell on Halloween
– When you make a killer dessert recipe
When to avoid witch cackles: going through airport security or customs, when the officiate asks if anyone objects to the marriage, in church, after serving food to your guests at a dinner party (Halloween excepted), near any newborn, during a GRE, at a job interview.
Use at your own risk.
Last week, a couple of you asked me if I could revamp my Vegan Twix bar recipe. I like the way you think because I was already planning on doing so! The original recipe was very tasty and decadent, but the shortbread crust was fairly crumbly and contained a ton of vegan butter. It also required baking the crust and making caramel from scratch.
For this version, I made the recipe lower in fat, gluten-free, faster, and improved the crust. After the Homemade Rolos were such a hit with many of you, I knew I wanted to use date caramel again. The crust ended up driving me a bit crazy though. I used oat flour, agave, and just a touch of coconut oil. While it held together perfectly it was way too dense and the flavour was too earthy for a Twix recipe.
I also knew I didn’t want to make a soft, fluffy crust. To me, a Twix bar has to have a crisp crust! Then Eric suggested I use rice crispies for the crust. Genius. It’s easy, fast, and just a few ingredients. Most of all, you don’t bake the crust which saves a lot of time. The crispy texture turned out to be the perfect compliment to the gooey date caramel and hardened chocolate coating. I don’t think I need to explain any further…
You can thank Eric for this one. (He says he will accept boxes of Homemade Twix bars.) ;)
Homemade Crispy Twix Bars
Yield
16-18 bars
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
30
Total time
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 & 1/4 cup GF crispy rice cereal (I use Nature’s Path)
- 1/4 cup brown rice syrup*
- 2 tbsp peanut butter*
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
For the date caramel
- 200-210 grams pitted soft Medjool dates (about 1 & 1/4 cup pitted dates)
- 1 tbsp peanut butter*
- 1 tbsp almond milk, or more if needed
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
For the chocolate coating
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil (optional)
Directions
- Line an 8-inch pan with two pieces of parchment paper. In a small pot, add the brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla. Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently until combined. Add pinch of salt. Pour into a large bowl with rice crisp and stir well.
- Scoop the rice crisp mixture into pan. Wet hands slightly and then spread the mixture evenly and press down firmly until smooth. Place in freezer while you make the date caramel.
- Soak dates in water until soft (only if necessary) and drain. Place pitted dates, peanut butter, milk, and salt in the food processor and process until almost smooth and a big ball forms.
- Spread caramel layer over top of the crust until it’s as smooth and even as you can get it. Place back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to set.
- Melt the chocolate and optional coconut oil in a small pot over low heat. When 2/3 of the chips are melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth. Spread chocolate on top of the caramel and place in the freezer for about 3 minutes only.
- Remove from freezer (chocolate should be slightly firm, but not completely set) and slice into rows and then in half. Freeze again until set for about 10 minutes. Store in fridge or freezer.
Tip:
- The brown rice syrup can probably be subbed for honey (if you include honey in your diet). Agave won’t hold together as well since it’s not as “tacky”, but it will hold together when kept in the freezer. It will fall apart at room temperature though.
- You can sub peanut butter for sunflower seed butter as a nut-free option.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I wrapped up two at a time in orange candy wrappers (from Bulk Barn) and secured them with kitchen twine. Not spooky, but so darn cute and festive.
I love the date caramel idea!
Made these yesterday and fell in LOVE with them!! I have a box of mini chocolate bars waiting for Halloween that I am not even the slightest bit interested in now that I have these! I even brought them in to work and everyone could not get over the fact that the ‘caramel’ was dates!! The only downside was that my coworkers ate them ALL – looks like I will have to make another batch…or two…or three :)
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!!
hahah darn those coworkers!!! ;) So glad you all enjoyed them. We just gave ours to my niece and nephew so I may have to make another batch for Halloween! ;)
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your website, recipes and your verve for life that comes through in your posts! I have a new baby with a milk allergy, and thus am venturing into the dairy-free world for the first time… your yummy recipes, beautiful pictures and cute commentary make this major food adjustment so much easier!
Hi Sandy, Thank you for your lovely note! It’s a pleasure to have you reading the blog. I hope you enjoy many recipes to come! All the best to you and your new baby.
I can’t wait to try these, I love twix, and these actually look better!!
Amazing! Going to make these for a potluck!
I just made these and they are damn good. Thanks for the recipe.
Twix are my favorite. I’m definitely making these this week as a halloween treat!
These look fabulous, but I really can’t wait to try that date caramel!!!! We are in the middle of a hurricane at the moment so I can’t go to the store, and I’m so upset I forgot to ask my MIL to get dates when she went to the store this morning so I could make the rolo knockoffs!!!! *Ugh* PS. The hurricane is a category 1 and is nothing more than a bad rainstorm so no need to worry :)
I made these tonight. Such a quick and EASY recipe and everyone loved them! :) I substituted honey for brown rice syrup and it worked out perfectly, I also used crunch peanut butter (all I had available) and it did not effect the consistency. I will definitely make it again.
Oh my – that layer of caramel in there looks amazing! Love your method for the crispy layer. I’ve gotta try these!
Just made these last night and they are amazing! Even my BF said they are incredible!! First batch is almost gone, so I have to head to the store for some more dates. I used Arrowhead Mills puffed rice cereal and sun butter. Date caramel took a little bit of time in my Vitamix, but was well worth it. This will be our go to snack going forward and no more of those vending machine candy bars at work! Thank you!
Awesome, enjoy!
I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9 by 13 pan, worked great!
This makes me wish I lived next door.
Seriously, of all the candy bar recreations I see across the blog world, the one I have always wanted to see is Twix! (And KitKats, if I’m honest). Super excited about this!
These are freakin’ amazing!
LONG time follower first time commenter but these are AMAZING. OH MY GOD I LOVE how the center stays gooey and the chocolate is just the right amount to make you feel like you are indulging without actually going over board. PERFECTION!
I did use honey instead of brown rice syrup, because we didn’t have any though I did find it today at the supertsore, still turned out like caramel. :)
I love twix bars, and your version looks so yum! I especially love how you wrapped them, so cute :)
Angela, you have totally outdone yourself! I just made a batch of these for a party tomorrow and I can’t wait to see the reactions on my friends’ faces! This is the kind of thing that seems so intimidating, but the steps reveal how simple it really is! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I almos feel like an imposter showing up to a party with such an impressive looking treat!!
haha you crack me up! So happy you enjoy the bars! I hope it goes over well with the friends. :)
Oh my gosh! These look so fantastic! I have to make them soon.
I just have to tell you how much I love your blog! I’ve been following for over a year now, and every recipe turns out perfect. These were amazing by the way, thank you for all that you do! :)
Thank you so much Britt! I appreciate that so much. Thanks for reading!
These look like a delicious treat and oh so cute wrapped up!
I made these Saturday night and my husband is crazy about them! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome recipe, these are making my mouth water! Gorgeous site
Date caramel?! Oh my goodness! I owe it to my husband to make these. He’s gone vegan with me… he’s a good sport. :)
Wow, I haven’t had a Twix bar in so long (they were my favorite), but these look so much tastier! Thanks :)
Hi Angela,
I am so glad I found you!!!!! Your website is amazing, your personal story very inspiring and I can relate in so many ways! Thanks for being so generous sharing all these wonderful healthy recipes. I’ve just made these bars and they are out of this world – I am glad I found this just in time for my son’s 2nd birthday – it will be a great hit among kids and parents! Thanks again!
The flavor is amazing! These are fantastic if eaten immediately, but found they don’t store well in the fridge. The rice crispies get soggy. Maybe store in freezer?
Greetings from Morningside, Alberta
This Twix recipe got me so motivated that I quadrupled it and killed my ancient food processor. Despite that setback, the end result was a 9 x 13 pan of crunchy caramel chocolate deliciousness…perfect with a fresh cup of coffee. Another stellar creation on your part:)
Oh no! I hope it recovers with some rest!
Oops. Forgot to check if the dates had been stoned. They weren’t! The date/peanut butter mixture tasted wonderful but I had to ditch it due to the “dropped on a gravel road” texture that the partially ground stones gave it…..trying again tonight!!
I made these. They are VERY sugary tasting.
Made these last night and they were delish!
The only thing I ran into is that the rice crispy base didn’t come out ‘crispy’…was pretty chewy and almost soggy? Anyone else run into this, perhaps I am missing something?!
I kind of want to take the recipe for the caramel portion of this recipe and try to make Pay Days. LOVE those, but the ingredient list on them is scary!
Pinned the Twix Bar recipe I made last night! THANK YOUUU!
Yum. I made these for Halloween and they are so already gone. We are newly dairy-free and so this was the first year I could not help myself (multiple times) to the regular Halloween fare (twix, kitkat, smarties). Therefore, I decided your homemade twix were definitely in order. And oh, they were so good… so much better than those little chocolate bars! Thank you for a healthier and happier Halloween! :)
Yum! These look so good. I’m going to try them this weekend and test them out on my husband (he’s so lucky). Thanks
Healthy never looked like this! Being vegan is cleansing my body and soul.
Hi Angela: I found your website through Chatelaine magazine, and all your recipes look so yummy.
My sister was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease and I’m now reading food labels faithfully. We were at the grocery store yesterday looking at rice cereal and regular Rice Crispies cereal by Kellogg’s has a small note at the bottom of the ingredients that it may contain wheat as processed in a wheat facility. However, Kellogg’s is now making a gluten free variety of Rice Crispies. Apparently it states gluten free in big letters on the top of the box near the name. We couldn’t buy it because the shelf was empty! (prompting a trip to the store manager to find out when it would be re-stocked)
It amazes me how many foods you might think would be naturally gluten free, but there are those tiny words “processed in a wheat facility” in the ingredient list!
Hi Sharon, I would try Nature Path’s rice crisp cereal – that is what I buy and it’s gluten-free and filled with good ingredients.
My stepdaughter and I made the candy bars last night. So amazingly delicious! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe.
I made these last night for my beau and he thought they were great!
He did however, want to point out that they are almost identical to a Whatchamacallit candy bar as those have both peanut butter and crisps. No PB in Twix.
Whatever you decide to call them- they get an A+ in our book!
:)
I don’t think we have that bar here, but that’s good to know.
Just going over this recipe and was curious if rice milk would work as a subsitute for the almond milk? My youngest has horrid nut allergies … thanks!
I can’t see why not! :)
I just made these, literally. In fact I am eating one right now! It’s even better than I thought it would be :-))) Should have doubled the batch. I cut my finger and thumb in the process of making them – didn’t unplug the blender while trying to get the sticky dates from being stuck on the blades!!! All is OK though. Didn’t lose any fingers!!! Hard to type with band aids on but it was soooo worth it. Lol! :-)
Yes, yes, and yes!! These look amazing!
Hi there! Thank you for this recipe! My nephew is wheat/dairy intolerant and Im making this as a dessert for him this thanksgiving! I kind of messed up and bought regular dates, instead of medjool. is it possible to soak them to help the consistency or should I just go buy medjool? Thanks!!!
Yes you can soak them until very soft, just be sure to drain them well before using. Enjoy!
Hi. I just want to say that I love your blog. As a vegan mother of three i have found so many yummy recipies.
Love from Norway
Hi Anne, Thank you for your kind words! Im so glad you enjoy the blog.
I made this yesterday and it was easy and delicious. I don’t think it tastes like a Twix bar but that doesn’t matter because the natural ingredients give it a richer taste. It is very sweet!
I REALLY liked the date caramel. The rice crispy cereal also made a GREAT cookie part !! They really did taste like twix bars !
..so i made these thinking to help with my unhealthy sweet cravings, and ended up eating the whole thing! So, not sure if that was actually help :) It was just wayyy chewy, chocolaty and delicious!!
I made these to bring to work and share with my coworkers. Since I went dairy and gluten free due to my health my baking/treat making nearly become non-exsistant for a while. Thankgoodness I found your website!! I have tried so many of your recipes and shared many of them with others. These bars were gone within a few hours at work. :-) I love feeding my coworkers healthier treats that taste so yummy! Thank you for sharing your talents with us.
Thnak you for your kind words Rachel, that means so much to me!
Hi Angela. These bars look SO good. I would love to try them, but I don’t have any rice syrup or maple syrup on hand, and I think those are quite pricey items on my side of the world. I was wondering if molasses would work as a substitute? Or do you think the taste would be too overpowering?
p.s. I would love to see you try an adaptation of a Snickers bar – those are legendary chocolates!
Wow- I’m in awe… what a fabulous recipe. They taste sinfully delicious!
I have a major sweet tooth…and these amazing things defiantly satisfied it. And its all organic!