Happy Fri-YAY!!! It’s the weekend, and you deserve some celebratory chocolate for making it through the week. And today, we’re celebrating with HEALTHY(er) homemade Twix Bars.
Whaaaat? Healthy Twix? I know. Yes, this is for real. I made homemade Twix bars that you can eat guilt-free, because these pretty little bars are gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, AND vegan. A whole big pile of them, because you deserve nothing less. I had to make this recipe three times, because you know, testing and stuff. I also needed an excuse to eat more.more.more of these delicious goodies.
Now, let’s talk about how this homemade candy magic happens. The crust is made with coconut flour, which creates a cookie base that creates a texture most similar to shortbread of any gluten-free flour I’ve tried.
Unfortunately, because coconut flour is super absorbent and likes to be unique, no other flour would substitute well here. A little goes a long way with coconut flour though, so pick up a bag and you’ll have it around for a while (and you can make lots of Twix!).
The caramel filling is seriously super easy. It can be made in the microwave or on the stove, but you don’t even need to cook it; all of the ingredients just need to be melted together and fully combined before being poured over the cooled crust and left to set.
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- food recipes
Whaaaat? Healthy Twix? I know. Yes, this is for real. I made homemade Twix bars that you can eat guilt-free, because these pretty little bars are gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, AND vegan. A whole big pile of them, because you deserve nothing less. I had to make this recipe three times, because you know, testing and stuff. I also needed an excuse to eat more.more.more of these delicious goodies.
Now, let’s talk about how this homemade candy magic happens. The crust is made with coconut flour, which creates a cookie base that creates a texture most similar to shortbread of any gluten-free flour I’ve tried.
Unfortunately, because coconut flour is super absorbent and likes to be unique, no other flour would substitute well here. A little goes a long way with coconut flour though, so pick up a bag and you’ll have it around for a while (and you can make lots of Twix!).
The caramel filling is seriously super easy. It can be made in the microwave or on the stove, but you don’t even need to cook it; all of the ingredients just need to be melted together and fully combined before being poured over the cooled crust and left to set.
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- ⅔ cup coconut flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, solid
- ½ cup creamy almond butter
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 14x5” tart pan or 8x8” square pan with coconut oil (I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well if your pan doesn't have a removable bottom).
- Combine coconut flour and salt in a bowl. Add the maple syrup and stir until fully combined and crumbly. Add the room temperature coconut oil and mix until a large dough ball forms, pressing out any clumps of coconut oil. I used my hands at the end to bring the dough fully together.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely.
- For the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until all of the ingredients are melted and throughly combined. Pour over the crust and let cool in the refrigerator until set before topping with chocolate layer.
- For the chocolate topping, whisk together all of the ingredients and pour over the cooled caramel layer. Smooth evenly and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let cool until set. Slice into 1-inch slices, or 16 squares. Keep stored in the refrigerator.
