Honey-Sweetened Twix Bars

Name: Honey-Sweetened Twix Bars
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 300 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup butter (room temperature); 4 ½ tablespoons (3.4 ounces) raw honey; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour; 1 cup heavy whipping cream (divided); 1 cup (12-ounces) raw honey; ¼ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 ¼ cups (8 ounces) dark chocolate (see note); ⅓ to ½ cup (3.5 ounces) heavy whipping cream (see note)

With a shortbread base, chewy caramel middle and soft chocolate top these honey-sweetened (no processed sugar) Twix bars are a sure crowd-pleaser.

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Hello friends!

How are you? Well it’s been a minute since I’ve posted a new recipe. There’s been a lot on my plate this past month and I’ve missed having time to post regularly. For one thing, we’ve been busy making our farm productive. And then there’s the other day-to-day motherhood stuff which sometimes gets ramped up. When I first started this blog I committed to myself that it would never come before real-life people with their real-life needs. And sometimes that means putting blogging aside on the back burner for a while.

New honeybees on the farm

One of the things we’ve been excited about on our farm this past month is adding two hives of honeybees. There’s something peaceful and therapeutic about watching the honeybees busily work in their hives. For me it’s more than just an appreciation and awe of nature that I feel, there’s something almost spiritual about watching the process. I walk by their hives several times a day and get drawn into their magnificent world. Of course I am excited about harvesting our own honey in the next year or two, but I guess I am surprised by how excited I am about the bees themselves.

Currently we purchase our raw honey from a local source. If you’re wondering if it will save us money to harvest our own honey, the answer is probably not. Just like it’s not usually monetarily worth it to grow your own garden or raise your own animals. But there are many other benefits to homesteading practices that outweigh the costs. One being the lifestyle and education for ourselves and our children that we’ve find valuable.

Raw honey is awesome

We love raw honey and use it a lot in our cooking. You’ll find tons of recipes on my site where I’ve converted my favorite recipes to be honey-sweetened.

And today I’m sharing the honey-sweetened version of these Twix cookie bars (a family favorite).

I’ve professed my love for my beloved Twix candy bars before. And the fact that I can now enjoy this honey-sweetened version of my favorite candy bar, makes me that much happier.

What you need to make these honey-sweetened Twix bars

Like the original Twix cookie bars, these bars are also made in three layers. The shortbread crust, the caramel layer, and the soft chocolate top layer.

These are the ingredients (all pantry-friendly) that you’ll need to make these honey-sweetened Twix bars.

For the shortbread crust:

butter
raw honey (see FAQs below about raw honey)
vanilla extract
all-purpose flour

For the caramel layer:

heavy whipping cream
raw honey
salt
baking soda
vanilla extract
butter

For the chocolate layer:

dark chocolate (I use Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips or chop up a dark chocolate pounds plus bar from Trader Joes)
heavy whipping cream

A few things to note about the caramel layer

Your elevation level will affect the temperature of the caramel layer. This recipe was created at 4500 feet above sea level. If you live below or above that elevation you will need to adjust the temperature in the caramel recipe accordingly and here’s a simple formula to do a quick adjustment:

Add 1 degree for every 500 feet of elevation below 4500. Subtract 1 degree for every 500 feet of elevation above 4500.

If you are an overachiever, you will want to check whether or not your candy thermometer is calibrated. My thermometer measures 203 degrees F. after boiling for 10 minutes. That number is an accurate reading for the elevation I live at which is about 4500 feet above sea level.

Here’s an easy way to find how many degrees to adjust the recipe by (it accounts for elevation gain plus thermometer calibration and will be the most accurate).

Find out what temperature your candy thermometer reads after being in boiling water for 10 minutes. If that temperature is hotter than 203 degrees (which is what my thermometer reads), then add the difference to all of the temperatures in the recipe. If it is lower than 203, subtract the difference to all the temperatures in the recipe.

FAQS for honey-sweetened Twix bars

What is the difference between raw honey and regular honey?

Raw honey is honey that is not processed and there are no additives. Its packaged directly from honeycomb that comes from real bees. Regular honey that you buy in the store goes through pasteurization and often ultra filtered (a process that removes the pollen from the honey). It can be diluted with water or corn syrup.

Can I use honey I bought from the store instead of raw honey?

I create all of the recipes on this blog using raw honey. If you use regular honey from the store instead you may get different results because of honey from the store (even if it claims to be organic or pure honey) can have different properties than raw honey. Baked goods especially can yield different results with store-bought honey as it may contain a higher moisture content than raw honey.

Do these honey-sweetened twix bars freeze well?

Yes! We freeze them all the time.

Wrapping things up here

Well, my friends I hope you enjoy these honey-sweetened Twix bars. I wouldn’t know (yet), but I’m guessing that the only thing that might make them taste better is to used honey from your very own beehives. And I can hardly wait! 🙂

With a shortbread base, chewy caramel middle and soft chocolate top these honey-sweetened (no processed sugar) Twix bars are a sure crowd-pleaser.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Keyword cookie bars, Honey-Sweetened

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling Time 4 hours

Total Time 5 hours

Servings 32 servings

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

Crust:

¾ cup butter room temperature
4 ½ tablespoons (3.4 ounces) raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

Caramel Layer:

1 cup heavy whipping cream divided
1 cup (12-ounces) raw honey
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter

Chocolate Layer:

1 ¼ cups (8 ounces) dark chocolate see note
⅓ to ½ cup (3.5 ounces) heavy whipping cream see note

Instructions

For Crust Layer:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a 9×13” pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a food processor add softened butter and mix a few minutes until smooth. Then add raw honey and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated, scraping down sides of food processor as needed.
Add half of the flour and mix. Then scrape down sides of bowl, add the remaining flour and mix until dough forms a ball. With your hands, press the crust evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

For Caramel Layer:

While crust is cooking, combine in a medium saucepan over low heat ½ cup of the heavy whipping cream, raw honey, salt, and baking soda. Warm the ingredients slowly and gently stir to combine, being careful not to stir too vigorously and splash the liquid on the sides of the pan.
Once the caramel ingredients have combined, increase the heat to medium-low. The caramel should maintain a simmer, but not be so hot that it is burning on the bottom. Keep cooking at a low simmer WITHOUT STIRRING for about 15-20 minutes until temperature reaches 235 degrees F (see note about elevation adjustments).
Pour in the remaining ½ cup of cream. Gently swirl the caramel with a wooden spoon once or twice. Then let it simmer WITHOUT STIRRING or adjusting the temperature for 10-15 minutes until the temperature returns to 240 degrees F (see note about elevation adjustments).
Take the caramel off the heat and carefully stir in the vanilla and butter. Let cool until it has cooled to at least 175 degrees F. Then pour over the cooled crust and quickly smooth it until it’s evenly distributed. Let caramel layer cool for 30 to 40 minutes in the refrigerator (or until it no longer jiggles) before adding the chocolate layer.

For Chocolate Layer:

Add the chocolate (chop it to small pieces if using bar chocolate) and cream to a microwavable bowl (or alternately you can use a double boiler to melt). Microwave on 50% power in two or three 30-second intervals, stirring well in between just until the chocolate starts to melt. Be careful not to over melt it or it will seize (meaning it will get hard and then never melt again).
Pour chocolate layer over set caramel layer and spread it until it’s evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until the cookie bars are set completely. Carefully remove the parchment and cut into four rows of eight bars for 32 bars total (or you can cut 3 rows of 5 bars for larger bars).
These cookie bars can be eaten immediately, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or frozen for a couple of months. For best results, let come to room temperature before serving so caramel is soft.

Recipe Notes

1. The kind of chocolate to use depends on your preference. I usually use the Ghiradelli brand of dark chocolate chips but I’ve also made this with Trader Joe’s dark chocolate pounds plus bar, chopped.

2. The perfect amount of cream to add to the chocolate layer is right between ⅓ and ½ cup, which is why I gave the weighted measurement. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, just measure a bit less than a half of a cup and you should be right on.

3. Elevation adjustment and candy thermometer calibration: Your elevation level will affect the temperature of the caramel layer. I live at 4500 feet above sea level. And that is the elevation that this recipe was created. If you live below or above that elevation you will need to adjust the temperature in the caramel recipe accordingly and here’s a simple formula to do a quick adjustment: