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.
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.
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?!