HOMEMADE TWIX BARS (GLUTEN FREE, PALEO + VEGAN)

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.

While the caramel cools, coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup come together for the quickest homemade chocolate ever. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and leave it to set and we’re almost done!

I opted to sprinkle a bit of fleur de sel over the top before the chocolate set, too. I’m a believer that a sprinkle of flaky sea salt makes pretty much anything better and I loved the bite of crunchy salt on these homemade Twix bars. It’s the perfect complement to the sweet filling, but you can leave it off for a more classic flavor.

I seriously couldn’t get over these homemade Twix bars and I immediately regretted sending them all off to work with my roommate and not saving any for myself! I think another batch may be in order soon 😃

Ingredients

For the shortbread crust
⅔ cup coconut flour
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
⅓ cup coconut oil solid, use refined for no coconut flavor
For the caramel filling
½ cup creamy almond butter
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
⅓ cup coconut oil melted, use refined for no coconut flavor
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the chocolate topping
¼ cup coconut oil melted, use refined for no coconut flavor
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt optional

Instructions

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).
Put coconut flour 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.