Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Homemade Twix Bars)

5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Homemade Twix Bars)

Chocolate caramel shortbread bars are decadent holiday dessert bars that taste just like homemade Twix bars! Buttery shortbread crust holds layers of soft caramel and creamy, sweet milk chocolate.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword best shortbread recipe, chcolate caramel shortbread bars, Christmas desserts, holiday desserts, homemade Twix bars

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

chilling 1 30

Total Time 2 10

Servings

Calories 345kcal

Author Chrissie (thebusybaker.ca)

Ingredients

For the shortbread base:

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp sea salt

For the Caramel filling:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
4 tbsp corn syrup or brown rice syrup

For the chocolate topping:

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with completely square sides by greasing it with a teaspoon or two of butter and lining it with parchment paper. The parchment paper will help you remove the bars from the pan, so make sure to leave some parchment paper hanging over the edges for easy removal.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) cream the butter and sugar for the shortbread base until it's light and fluffy and pale in colour. Add the flour and sea salt and mix on low speed just until the dough begins to come together and the flour is absorbed.
Press the mixture as evenly as you can into the prepared baking dish and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-22 minutes, or just until the edges begin to turn a very pale brown.
Let the shortbread base cool almost to room temperature while you prepare the caramel filling.
Add the butter to a medium pot over medium heat and let it melt. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar, the sweetened condensed milk, and the brown rice syrup (or corn syrup). Combine these ingredients over the heat using a wire whisk until the mixture is smooth. Continue whisking constantly as the mixture heats up and once it reaches a slow boil continue whisking for 7 minutes. Important: Stir constantly to avoid sticking and over cooking. If this happens, you'll start to see brown flecks appearing in the mixture as it boils and there's absolutely nothing you can do about this except throw the whole thing in the trash and start again (been there, done that!).
After you've whisked the boiling caramel for 7 minutes, you'll notice it has darkened slightly and thickened a bit. It should reach a temperature of 236 degrees Fahrenheit (or 113 degrees Celsius) to set properly. Pour it quickly and carefully over the shortbread base and smooth it out with a spatula, pushing it into the corners of the pan if you need to. It's okay if the shortbread base hasn't cooled completely at this point. If it's a touch warm that's fine, just make sure it's not straight from the oven when you add the caramel.
Set the baking dish aside for 10 minutes before beginning to melt the chocolate to spread over the top. This will allow the caramel to set slightly so the chocolate will spread easily.
Chop the chocolate and add it to a heat-proof glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water to melt it. Using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate pieces around in the heat-proof bowl over the simmering water until the heat of the steam has melted the chocolate completely.
Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolate pieces on 50% power for 45 seconds at a time, stirring after every 45 second increment until the chocolate is completely melted.
Spread the melted chocolate over the caramel filling carefully using an offset spatula until the chocolate has covered the entire surface of the caramel.
Set the baking dish in the fridge for 1-2 hours to allow the layers to set and remove it from the fridge 10 minutes before you plan to cut into it so the chocolate layer will slice easily. Use the parchment paper to lift everything out of the baking dish and onto a cutting board for easy slicing.
Slice into 24 bars and serve! Grab one while you can...they won't last long!

Video

Notes

A great trick to slicing this dessert is to heat the knife before slicing so it moves through the layers smoothly. Just dip your knife in boiling water and wipe it with a clean kitchen towel after each time you dip it in the water. This will help you achieve clean edges that beautifully display each layer.

Nutrition