Monday, March 13, 2017

Homemade Twix Bars

The Twix bar is definitely in my top 5 of candy bars.  Recipe from Food Faith Fitness via BuzzFeed. Though I'm not too sure about the coconut oil.

Homemade Twix Bars
Total time is NOT including chill time, so please factor in at least 3 hours for the bars to chill.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 16 Bars

Ingredients
For the crust:
  • 1/3 Cup Coconut oil at room temperature (should be the consistency of softened butter)
  • 3 Tbsp Honey Agave
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut flour sifted (66g) *
For the caramel:
  • 2 Cups lightly packed Dates cut into halves (290g)
  • 1 Tbsp Coconut oil melted
  • 1 Tbsp Hot Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
For the chocolate coating:
  • 3 oz Dark chocolate roughly chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang over the sides to use as a handle when the bars are set.
  2. In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat together the coconut oil, honey and salt until creamy and smooth.
  3. Stir in the sifted coconut flour until a wet dough forms. Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap with saran wrap, or place on a piece of parchment paper. Refrigerate until the dough has set a little bit, and has lost some of it's "stick." This takes about 8-10 minutes.**
  4. Once chilled, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. This may be a little difficult at the beginning, because the parchment paper may move around. I found that holding it with one hand, while pressing with the other worked well. Additionally, if your dough is quite sticky you can use a small piece of parchment paper to press out the dough.
  5. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 9-10 minutes. If your crust rises a little bit, gently press it flat with a large spoon once it comes out of the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes.
  6. While the crust cools, place the chopped dates in a medium, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until hot, but not burned, about 1.5-2 minutes.
  7. Add the hot dates into a SMALL food processor (mine is 3 cups ***) and use the "chop" setting until they are broken down into small pieces. Then, turn to the "puree" setting until the dates are creamy and begin to form a ball.
  8. With the food processor running, stream in the coconut oil and HOT almond milk (I just microwaved it for 1 1/2 minutes) until the dates are broken down, sticky and smooth.
  9. Once the crust has finished cooling for 5 minutes, gently spread the date caramel on top evenly, making sure to not break the crust.
  10. Place the pan into the refrigerator until the caramel is hard, at least 3 hours.
  11. Once the caramel is hard, lift out of the pan and slice into 16 bars. Additionally, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  12. Place the chocolate and 1/4 tsp of coconut oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals on half power, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
  13. Pour the chocolate into a small shallow plate with sides. Gently pick up each bar by the sides and dunk the top into the chocolate until it's fully covered. Gently shake off any excess, and place onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Repeat with all the remaining bars. ****
  14. Place into the refrigerator for 10 minutes to set the chocolate and DEVOUR.
Recipe Notes
* PLEASE weigh your coconut flour! I have tried this crust MANY times with different brands and, for the most part, 3/4 cup of sifted coconut flour is 66g. BUT, I have found some brands that are a little denser and only require 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp to make 66g. To ensure results, weigh the sifted flour.

** You can totally omit the chilling if you want, but it makes the dough easier to press into the pan.

*** I could not get the dates to be smooth enough in a large food processor, so definitely use a small one.

**** You may have some chocolate left over. You can easily re-microwave it and gently spread it on the sides of the bars if you wish. Bars are best stored in refrigerator.

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