When I became pregnant with my son, I had been more or less eating very healthy for three years. I had maybe one candy bar a year and that decision was always made with a great deal of consideration, weighing potential options, alternatives, and consequences (um, what happened?). One night in the middle of my second trimester, my husband and I were driving home at about 9:00 pm when we drove past a gas station. I ordered him to immediately pull into the parking lot. He obliged because he learned not to mess with pregnant me after the time I came home from Arby’s and discovered they had forgotten my curly fries and a lot of yelling, cupboard-slamming, and swearing ensued. He was scared.
Anyway, I’m sure he thought that the gas station stop had something to do with some form of pregnant lady bodily function. Imagine his surprise when I came out with a whole bunch of Twix bars. Yep, after years of healthy eating, Twix bars were my downfall. To me, they’re like those toxic boyfriends you keep going back to–we can’t be around each other without things ending in some kind of self-loathing.
Which is why, when presented with the opportunity, I made a whole pan of homemade Twix bars. Only to make matters worse, I topped them off with melted Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (my other ultimate weakness) instead of regular chocolate. Just call me Chelsea from Teen Mom 2… 
(for going back to my toxic “boyfriend”; I’m not implying that she eats a lot of Twix bars).
While it does take some time to make these, they’re actually super easy; most of the time is letting things cool down and set up. You’ll need softened salted butter, flour, powdered sugar, vanilla, caramels, cream, and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. And just FYI, I’m pretty sure if I made up my own version of “My Favorite Things,” it would probably involve everything in that ingredients list.
Preheat your oven to 300. Then spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a heavy duty mixer), combine the flour, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Mix until it is combined–it may start out stiff, but it will all come together. Gently press it into the prepared pan
then prick the dough with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming while it’s baking.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the cookie crust is light golden. Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. This can be done a day ahead of time.
When the crust is cool, place the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl.
Okay, I’ve modified the caramel directions from when I originally posted this recipe. I changed things because when I added 3 tablespoons of cream, the caramel melted everywhere, but it seems like a lot of people have run into hard caramel issues. So I recommend adding the 3 tablespoons with a warning that if you’re at a very low elevation, the caramel may end up being on the very soft side. So if you’re very worried about that (like if you’re bringing these to a bake sale and can’t keep them refrigerated), keep that in mind. But better too soft than breaking a tooth, right?
That’s right, if anyone asks you why you’re adding cream to your caramel, tell them you can get a note from your dentist that it’s totally necessary.
Melt the caramel in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until smooth, stirring each minute.
Spread the caramel over the cookie crust and then place the pan in the fridge to help the caramel set up quickly.
When the caramel is solid, place the peanut butter cups in a microwave-safe bowl
and microwave for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and melted, stirring every 45 seconds. Spread it over the cooled caramel layer.
Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until the chocolate layer is solid (you could also pop it in the freezer for less time to hurry things along).
When the chocolate is set up, carefully cut into bars. Eat one. Pour a glass of milk. Go back for more. Wonder if Chelsea will ever learn her lesson and kick Adam to the curb forever. The end.
Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Shortbread Bars
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour by Our Best Bites
1 c. salted butter at room temperature
1 c. powdered sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. caramels (1 14-oz. package Kraft caramel or 2 c. homemade caramel)
3 tablespoons cream (see notes above)
3 cups mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (about 1 1/2 11-oz. bags)
Preheat oven to 300. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla until the mixture comes together. Lightly press the shortbread dough into the pan. Prick with a fork to prevent the crust from bubbling. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of the bars. Allow to cool completely.
Combine the caramels and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring each minute, until the mixture is smooth. Spread evenly over the cookie crust, then place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for 30-60 minutes or until the caramel is solid.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups until melted and smooth, stirring each 45 seconds. Spread over the cooled caramel. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until the chocolate layer is solid. They can also be placed in the freezer for less time if you’re in a hurry. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in a cool area or the refrigerator to prevent messy disasters.
Questions & Reviews
I made these for Easter!! Super easy and wonderful! I did have a little bit of a problem with caramel lifting off the crust but not enough to keep us from loving them! Thanks so much – I get so many good ideas from you and I make sure everyone knows what a great site you have! Happy Easter……
Okay … I have a question. I made these last night and then “tried” to cut them this morning. The caramel is hard as a rock! 🙁 What did I do wrong?? The caramel lifts completely off of the shortbread and … it just didn’t work.
Debbie–what kind of caramel did you use? And how much whipping cream did you use? I’m 99% sure that’s the problem, but since it’s too late fix that, did you try letting them sit at room temperature? Did they get any softer?
I am always linking back to you guys on my little blog and this one is for sure going to be linked back tomorrow!
Hahahahaha! For some reason this post made me crack up. Oh and for the record Twix bars are my FAV and a close second is the RPCs. This dessert is going to be a serious problem if I make it because I’ll want to eat it. I guess I should make it when I have to bring dessert to something so I’ll only eat one…or maybe two. 😉
Made these tonight and they are ridiculously good!!! I used Werthers Caramels and decided I didn’t have enough so I added 3 tbsp cream…. the cream didn’t all stir in so I poured it off the top and had enough caramel after all. Oh yah did I mention I drank the caramel whip cream I poured off?? Yep thats right… I have a problem:)
thanks so much! I just bought some carmels today and look forward to making these. i will wait for some easter pb cups to go on clearance after easter 🙂
Thank you SO much for posting this (and all of your other fabulous recipes–I’ve tried at least 10 in the last 3 weeks since I found your blog and bought your book)! Twix and Reeses are my all time favorite candy and I’m dying to make these. I already went and bought most of the ingredients, except I forgot to get cream. This is probably a stupid question, but can I substitute whole milk for cream since it’s only 1 TBSP, so I don’t have to go buy a whole carton of it? Would it work the same?
Melanie, if you’re using the Kraft caramels, I’d just use water! 🙂 That’s what they have you do when you use them to make caramel apples, so it should be fine. GOOD LUCK!
I sat down to work on my homework at the computer (yes, teachers have homework, too), and decided to delay my torture a bit and bookmark a few cooking blog sites so that I didn’t have to keep googling them. I made the mistake of searching your blog first. After 3 hours of browsing and drooling, I have given up on my homework. (There’s always tomorrow.) Thanks for doing what you’re doing… and especially for sharing with those of us who are in the same-o, same-o, meal cycle and need a good “shot in the arm”! ;0)
I love your recipes, and follow a number of awesome cooking blogs and websites. I noticed you guys just recently started referencing your sources and I wondered why you haven’t done that before. What made you start? Just curious…
We’ve always tried to cite recipes when we’ve known the source and we’ve really been making a conscious effort to reference our sources in a uniform way for about 1 1/2 years now, so if it’s a recent recipe that’s not cited, it either means we made it up or we have no idea where it came from (like an old family recipe that we’ve had forever). However, we have been working on another project where we’re basically putting all of our original recipes, which is why you haven’t been seeing too many brand-spanking new ones from us lately. 🙂
Oh, so excited for the secret project, especially if it’s something other than the calendar…I really appreciate when blogs and cooking websites reference their sources. I like to see the original recipe, if possible, to see what amazing changes have been made. Even if it’s an old family recipe, it makes the recipe more meaningful to me, just knowing that. It bothers me if someone posts a recipe and doesn’t really say much, possibly trying to make it look like they made it up. Many of your recipes are so unique, I know you two came up with them. A few are familiar to me…like the buttermilk syrup or the overnight Carmel sticky buns…when they are somewhat common recipes, it’s hard to credit a source. Recipes aren’t copyrighted, not that I know of anyway. I just have really enjoyed recently that you guys have sources of recipes because I love seeing the genius adaptations you two do. Thanks for all your work on the blog. I have made a number of your recipes and have found some real winners.
Oh MY GOODNESS!! Totally making these! Forget buying smaller jeans, if I eat enough of these I can fit into the ones I already have! Lol! 🙂 You guys rock!