Homemade Paleo Twix Bars
These paleo copycat Twix bars are a healthier alternative to a classic candy! They’re nut-free, made with real food ingredients, and can be made AIP-friendly.
What are Twix bars?
We’re going there… homemade Twix bars! Truthfully, I’m the kind of girl that is happy with all chocolate in all forms. I’m here for all of it! But I remember my brother being particularly into Twix bars as a kid, and I couldn’t disagree with him.
Twix bars are a candy classic. Though conventional Twix bars are full of corn syrup, soy, enriched flour, and more classic candy ingredients, what makes up a Twix bar is actually pretty straight forward. They’re made up of a shortbread crust, a caramel layer, and a candy coating.
When you strip away the junk and focus on real food ingredients, it’s actually pretty simple to make these into a healthier option! This version is paleo, nut-free, dairy-free, and can even be made AIP.
How to make Homemade Twix Bars
- To make the shortbread crust: Mixing together the two flours, and then stirring in the wet ingredients until well combined. Evenly flatten the crust in the bottom of the pan and puncture the crust with a fork about 10-15 times. Bake the crust until lightly golden brown for about 25-30 minutes. Set aside and allow to completely cool.
- To make the date caramel: Allow the dates to soak in warm water for 10 minutes to soften. Strain the water and add the dates to a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue to process as you slowly pour in the coconut milk. Process until the caramel is smooth and no large date pieces can be seen. Spoon the date caramel in an even layer over the shortbread crust. Allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour or until completely hardened.
- For the chocolate coating: Assemble a double boiler by using a medium pot and filling two-thirds of the way with water. Bring to a medium simmer/low boil. Place heat safe bowl over the pot and fill with the chocolate and coconut oil. Stir continuously to melt evenly. Carefully remove the bowl from the double Pour the chocolate over the date caramel layer and spread into an even layer. Allow the pan to cool slightly before transferring to the fridge to allow the chocolate to harden completely. Transfer the Twix to a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut into 12 (or more or less depending on the size you’d prefer) bars. Serve immediately or store in the fridge with parchment paper separating the bars to avoiding sticking.
Tips & Tricks for Making Homemade Twix
Always melt chocolate in a double boiler
Seriously, skip the microwave. It’s too uneven and too likely to burn. All you have to do is bring water to a low simmer and place a heat-safe bowl over the water and add the chocolate to slowly melt. Super easy!
Store the twix with parchment paper
Separate with parchment paper to keep them from sticking to each other! Chocolate will always stick when it melts, so any slight temperature change can have your bars stick together.
Add some flair of your own!
Topping these off with flaky sea salt would be amazing, and you can even experiment with adding in a little bit of flavoring to your chocolate like peppermint extract.
The Ingredients For Homemade Twix Bars
Coconut flour
Coconut flour is great for shortbread and makes these nut-free. I have not tried to make this recipe coconut free and cannot recommend a swap.
Arrowroot starch
You can likely also use tapioca.
Dates & coconut milk
These are the main ingredients for the date caramel. You may need to add a date or two depending on how large your dates are, so just keep an eye on it!
Chocolate
I use enjoy life chocolate chips, but you can also use a carob alternative (like this) for AIP.
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PrintHomemade Paleo Twix Bars
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the shortbread
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the date caramel
- 12 medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
For the chocolate coating
- 3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life, sub a recipe like this for AIP)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
For the shortbread
- Preheat the oven to 325 F and line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment paper
- Start with the crust by mixing together the two flours, and then stirring in the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Evenly flatten the crust in the bottom of the pan and puncture the crust with a fork about 10-15 times.
- Bake the crust until lightly golden brown for about 25-30 minutes. Set aside and allow to completely cool.
For the date caramel
- Allow the dates to soak in warm water for 10 minutes to soften.
- Strain the water and add the dates to a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue to process as you slowly pour in the coconut milk. Process until the caramel is smooth and no large date pieces can be seen.
- Spoon the date caramel in an even layer over the shortbread crust. Allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour or until completely hardened.
For the chocolate coating
- Assemble a double boiler by using a medium pot and filling two-thirds of the way with water. Bring to a medium simmer/low boil. Place heat safe bowl over the pot and fill with the chocolate and coconut oil. Stir continuously to melt evenly. Carefully remove the bowl from the double
- Pour the chocolate over the date caramel layer and spread into an even layer. Allow the pan to cool slightly before transferring to the fridge to allow the chocolate to harden completely.
- Transfer the twix to a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut into 12 (or more or less depending on the size you’d prefer) bars. Serve immediately or store in the fridge with parchment paper separating the bars to avoiding sticking.
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 326
- Fat: 19.5g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 5.3g
- Protein: 3g
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Love the cookie bottom and chocolate top. The taste of the caramel center was spot on but the texture threw me off. I still really enjoyed these! Going to make again with a nut butter – I’m a huge PB Twix fan! Thanks a bunch for this recipe!
★★★★
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Delicious and a big hit! This is the type of recipe that I am usually intimidated by, since it requires making 3 components. With Halloween approaching, I had a little extra motivation to test it ahead of time for a safe treat in the house. So i am glad to report that these twix bars were so easy to make! Even my toddler helped me make them. That hardest part was waiting for them to chill before cutting in and enjoying! My MIL also liked them and she didn’t even know they were AIP, although I told her they were gluten free afterwards.
OMG I am obsessed with this delicious recipe. You know how to eat, and I love it.
I made this three times since the last 10 days.
It is so good. And I feel bad for eating so much of it. Especially when bed time hits, I want to devour a big slice of it.
Is it potentially healthy for someone with PCOS symptoms? I’ve been getting some acne but I’m not sure if it’s because of this or because I recently introduced eggs, or because I’m close to getting my period. Or could it be that I’ve been having more carbs on the AIP diet since 10 days ago than before.
I’m still figuring this out.
But I just want to share my appreciation for you and your work.
Thank you so much Michelle <3
★★★★★
So glad you liked these!!! It’s so hard to say what could be causing something like acne, so that’s for sure something I would work with a practitioner with one on one. Thank you!!
I made this recipe last week to take to work as we were celebrating a co-worker’s last day. Both myself and another colleague are gluten free, and right now, she is on the AIP diet. Everyone loved them! I’ve been wanting to make a dessert recipe that showcase how it is possible to feel like you are indulging but uses ingredients that are simple and nourishing, and this did the trick. In addition, it was really simple to make. The directions were clear and easy to follow. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Thank you so so much, Stevie!! So glad you guys liked them 🙂
I could not believe that the dates made caramel – very skeptical, but you hit the mark.
I added a little salt to both the caramel and the chocolate. They are really rich. The maple syrup was a little overpowering, but the next day, it mellowed out as did the coconuttyness of the flour. Michelle, you are a miracle worker.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Jessica!! So glad you liked it!!
do you recommend canned coconut milk or is carton coconut milk ok?
Canned is better for this recipe 🙂
Hi there! Would date sugar work in place of the dates?
Real dates are nice and sticky so it does a better job at making caramel 🙂
Not a huge fan of coconut so could almond milk but a sub for the caramel layer?
I haven’t tried it so I couldn’t say for sure, but you could try it!
Hello!
These look amazing! Do you think I could substitute cassava flour for the coconut flour? I have a coconut allergy which makes gluten-free baking a challenge.
Thanks!
Hi! I have not tried to make this recipe coconut free and unfortunately cannot recommend a swap.
These were very tasty but definitely did not remind me anything of Twix. The “caramel” is really a date coconut cream…again, very tasty but definitely nothing like a caramel. I did mine with a carob topping and ended up eating the entire batch in about a week
★★★★