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 and they were to DIE FOR!!! I may or may not have eaten the entire pan by myself… toxic boyfriend indeed.
So sweet; so delicious!
Having never eaten a real Twix before because I can’t eat the cookie part, I made this recipe gluten free just by substituting flours (to Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gf flour plus some xantham gum). They turned out great and now I feel like I’ve had the Twix bar experience.
They’re super rich so small pieces were perfect. Instead of Reeses mini cups I used easter candy bought on clearance (a blend of reeses bunnies and chocolate bunnies). I also didn’t have cream so used the 1% milk in my fridge and the carmel still turned out soft and creamy. The recipe easily adapts!
Thanks so much for such a fun recipe!
I had some ‘gourmet’ homemade caramel recently (not made by me, heh) and even when I left it sitting out for a day or two (because I’m easily distracted like that) it was still chewy and not hard at all. I’m wondering if a homemade caramel would be better for this recipe? I definitely envision the end result with a smoother caramel texture just like a Twix bar. In any case, this is in my “to make” file.
I made these as soon as I saw them and was actually a little disapointed. The shortbread crust was great and I plan on using that recipe for simple shortbread cookies. But as a whole, they were just too rich and seemed an odd combination. Almost seemed like they’d be better without the carmel layer maybe. Usually my husband is up for anything sweet, and her actually said these were too much.
I made these for Easter as well and followed the ingredients exactly and had the same problem with the carmel. It was so hard and even after spraying the pan I couldn’t get the bars out so my husband got to pick at the shortbread for 2 days instead!! LOL
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It sounds so delicious, as do just about all of your recipes.
Any idea if these freeze well? I have all of the ingredients to make them, but
absolutely do not need my jeans to be any tighter than they are already! I’m hoping
that it’s possible to freeze them in individual servings. Thanks!
I *imagine* you could! 🙂 It might alter the texture a little, but I think they’d be just as tasty.
I made these for an Easter dessert last night. I would say that even using Kraft caramels use about 3 tblspns of cream. My caramel was too hard as well (not too hard to eat) just a bit too chewy for those with bad teeth or little ones. Everything else came out great and I’m enjoying one right now!
I’ve soo been thinking about making a twix cookie – but have been stymied by the amount of work involved…this sounds so easy! I’m so excited to try your recipe.
So you’re next post is going to be ‘how not to each halve of the ingredients before the recipe is made’, right? That shortbread was good enough to eat alone. I’ll be making that too often. Mmmmm.
Oops, I mean half.