These vegan Twix are easy to make and sure to be loved. This recipe has a couple of different ways to make it, whether you want to make the shortbread crust homemade or start with Lorna Doones. I will walk you through the process. These are SO good!
Conventional Twix bars were one of my favorite candy bars before going vegan.
I thought I would give it up for good until I started messing around with different recipes.
Because you’re making a vegan caramel sauce for this vegan Twix, I opted for a store-bought vegan shortbread crust.
If you would rather make entirely homemade vegan Twix bars, replace the Lorna Doones with a shortbread cookie layer below.
I have a vegan shortbread base if you prefer not to use Lorna Doones.
The Lorna Doones make the perfect crunchy shortbread base.
I have two types of gooey caramel you can use for this recipe.
One requires a candy thermometer, and the other does not.
If you are nervous about making your homemade caramel, don’t be; I will walk you through it!
You need patience and the ingredients, and you’ll be on your way!
I make this classic candy bar every Halloween.
My kids love having vegan chocolate candies they can actually eat on Halloween.
We still take our kids tricking treating; they know what they can eat and can’t.
We go through the candy at the end of the night and give away what they can’t eat.
They could care less because I make treats like these and they don’t feel left out.
What does your family do for trick or treating?
What makes up a traditional Twix bar?
The shortbread layer starts with a cookie base layer made up of buttery shortbread cookies.
You have two options with this recipe: you can either use a Lorna Doone as your crunchy cookie or make your shortbread; both are good, one is just less time-consuming.
Caramel layer- makes up the next layer with a vegan caramel sauce. I have two different recipes you can choose from.
Chocolate layer- The classic Twix bar and homemade Twix bars are covered on the top and the bottom in delicious chocolate.
Can you make this gluten-free vegan Twix?
If you make your own shortbread, the recipe should work with subbing in all-purpose gluten-free flour, but I have never actually tried it.
It may be more crumbly; I’m not positive. The caramel and chocolate will be fine.
What’s the best way to dip chocolate?
Dipping chocolate can be somewhat of a beast.
It’s best to temper your chocolate on the stove so that it doesn’t melt in your hands when you handle your hardened chocolate.
The best way to dip chocolate is by putting your Twix bar on the middle of a fork and dipping it into the chocolate. Then remove it, making sure you’re still over the bowl of chocolate; tap the fork to remove the excess chocolate.
Then place the dipped vegan candy bar on parchment paper or a wire rack with parchment paper under it.
How do you temper chocolate?
Tempering chocolate can be done on the stove or the microwave.
Stovetop tempering
- Take a small saucepan or medium saucepan, depending on how much chocolate you’re melting.
- Now take a double boiler or a heat-safe glass bowl that fits in the saucepan without touching the bottom.
- Add water to the saucepan but not too much; you don’t want the water to hit the bowl or double boiler directly. You want it just to boil under it.
- Heat your water.
- Add your vegan chocolate chips and stir with a rubber spatula until it’s almost fully melted (110 F-115 F), then shut off the heat and carefully with oven mittens remove the bowl and place it in a heat-safe place.Stir it until it’s melted.
- Once the chocolate hits 88F-90F, you can start dipping your candy bars.
Microwave tempering-
- Add 3/4 of your vegan chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl or cut-up chocolate bar.
- Heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; do this in intervals of 30 seconds until it’s almost fully melted.
- Stir until melted, and then add the remaining chocolate chips and stir until it melts in (this will help cool the chocolate)
- Let the chocolate come to a temperature of 88F-90F, and then you can start dipping.
What’s the best chocolate to use?
I almost always use vegan chocolate chips because it’s convenient. My favorite brands are Enjoy Life, Trader Joe’s semi-sweet, and sometimes Costco has vegan chocolate chips in the white bag.
There are other delicious brands, but these are the most available in my area.
You can also buy a high quality vegan chocolate bar, cut it into small chunks, and melt that down.
I wouldn’t use dark chocolate unless you love it, look for semi-sweet or something closer to milk chocolate but vegan, of course.
What do you need to make this delicious vegan Twix?
For the full ingredient amounts, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- dark brown sugar
- vegan butter
- vegan sweetened condensed milk
- dark corn syrup
- maple syrup
- molasses
- vanilla extract
- salt
- chocolate chips
- oil
- Lorna Doone Cookies or vegan shortbread
Or this easy vegan caramel sauce doesn’t require vegan sweetened condensed milk or a candy thermometer.
- brown sugar *yes instead of white sugar
- corn syrup
- vegan butter
- vegan milk
- vanilla extract
How do you make these homemade vegan Twix bars?
You’re going to start by making the vegan caramel recipe because it needs cooling time.
Grab a three qt saucepan, combine all the caramel ingredients, stir with a wooden spoon until mixed, and add a candy thermometer.
Stir on medium-low heat until the caramel reaches 238 degrees, then remove from heat.
Let the caramel sit in the fridge for an hour or two until it’s easy to mold and not going to come off of the shortbread.
You can even make this caramel earlier in the day and then come back to it later if you don’t want to wait for it to cool.
If you do not have a candy thermometer and would rather do a quick caramel, you can do this vegan caramel recipe that’s made in 8 minutes.
While you’re waiting for the caramel to cool, you can take a cookie sheet (that can fit in the fridge or freezer) line it with parchment paper.
Take your Lorna Doones cookies and place them on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
If you would rather make your own vegan shortbread crust and not use the Lorna Doone, then grab the vegan shortbread recipe and follow these instructions;
- Follow the directions for the shortbread crust on the recipe, then follow these-
- It’s best to use a mold for these, I just bought one at our local craft store, and it makes perfect shortbread. If you don’t want to buy one or don’t have it available, you can do so by taking a baking pan and lining it with greased parchment paper. Press the dough into an even layer. Then make cuts into the cookie dough in the shapes you want, so you have marks to cut them when they are cooked.
- Bake at 350F- for 8-14 minutes, depending on how thick they are.
- If you don’t have the mold cut along the lines, you cut before baking.
When your vegan caramel is ready, take a spoon and spoon on a thick layer of caramel onto the cookie.
It should be cool enough to stay on and not melt off.
If it’s still melting off, your caramel is not ready. A little bit of melt-off is okay.
Layer all of the cookies with a thick layer of caramel and stick it in the freezer while you work with the chocolate.
This will make the caramel even firmer, and it won’t want to slide off.
Caramel can be a little pesky sometimes.
Now let’s make the chocolate coating.
- Add about 3/4 of your vegan chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl or cut-up chocolate bar.
- Heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; do this in intervals of 30 seconds until it’s almost fully melted.
- Stir until melted, and then add the remained of chocolate chips and stir until it melts in (this will help cool the chocolate)
- Let the chocolate come to a temperature of 88F-90F, and then you can start dipping.
Take the caramel cookies out, use a fork, place the cookie in the middle of the fork, and dip it into your melted chocolate.
Tap the fork to remove the excess chocolate.
You can also brush chocolate on these with a pastry brush, it does not yield a smooth surface, but it’ll work.
Do this with the remaining cookies and stick them in the freezer until they are set.
How do you serve these homemade Twix bars?
I like to serve these out of the fridge or after being at room temperature for about 15 minutes, any longer, and the caramel starts to ooze out a little bit.
I keep these in the freezer in a gallon freezer bag and let them sit for about 10 minutes, and then they are soft enough to eat.
How do you store these vegan candy bars?
These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for six days. Or in a freezer gallon bag in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How do you freeze them?
These are best if you flash freeze them.
Take a cookie sheet lined, place your vegan Twix in a single file, and freeze them; after they are frozen (an hour or so), put them in the freezer bag altogether and freeze for up to 6 months.
Defrost- by letting them sit at room temperature to soften.
General Twix questions-
Is there a vegan Twix?
There is a store-bought version on the market called the 2 Fer by Go Max Go.
You can buy them online, or if you’re lucky, your local health food store might have them, but I wouldn’t count on it.
There is also a company in Utah that makes them homemade, and they are incredible, and they can be shipped. This company is called Sweet Hazel Co.
Want some other vegan candy recipes?
Ingredients
Caramel
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 6 TB vegan butter room temp
- 3.7 half can oz vegan sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup dark corn syrup
- 2 TB + 2tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp dark molasses
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- OR- Easy Vegan Caramel sauce *doesn’t have the condensed milk. link in notes
Chocolate Coating
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Cookies
- 10 oz Package Lorna Doones 40 Cookies
- OR vegan shortbread base link in notes
Instructions
- Take a three qt saucepan and combine all ingredients; stir with a wooden spoon until mixed, then add a candy thermometer. Stir on medium-low heat until the caramel is 238 degrees, then remove from heat. Let the caramel sit in the fridge for an hour or two until it's easy to mold and not going to come off of the shortbread.
- While you're waiting for the caramel to cool, you can take a cookie sheet (that can fit in the fridge or freezer) line it with parchment paper. Take your Lorna Doones cookies and place them on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
- When your caramel is ready, take a spoon and spoon on a thick layer of caramel onto the cookie. It should be cool enough to stay on and not melt off. If it's still melting off, your caramel is not ready. Layer all of the cookies with a thick layer of caramel and stick it in the freezer while you work with the chocolate.
- Melt your chocolate
- Add about 3/4 of your vegan chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl or cut-up chocolate bar.
- Heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; do this in intervals of 30 seconds until it's almost fully melted.
- Stir until melted, and then add the remained of chocolate chips and stir until it melts in (this will help cool the chocolate)
- Let the chocolate come to a temperature of 88F-90F, and then you can start dipping.
- 5. Take the caramel cookies out of the freezer Take a fork, place the cookie in the middle of the fork, and dip it into your melted chocolate. Tap the fork to remove the excess chocolate. You can also brush chocolate on these with a pastry brush, it does not yield a smooth surface, but it'll work. Repeat with the remaining cookies. You may need more chocolate, Store either in the freezer or fridge so they don't melt.
Notes
Nutrition
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Stefany Stillings
Monday 20th of January 2020
Nice blog and content, I really excited, thanks for share!