Who is that shaggy creature?
No, not the doggy, that’s Boomer.
I mean that shaggy red headed creature…the big one. That’s my Dad, which of course means that’s me, and my sister. Aren’t we cute?
Remember when I told you I was going to share a bit of my history. Well there it is.
Here’s another one. Get ready, it’s pretty embarrassing , but I think I can handle the humiliation.
Oh my god. I can’t believe I just posted that on the interwebs. I’m so embarrassed!
There’s me, at 18 (ten years ago) in all my plump faced glory. That was the last shot taken on my grad film strip. Classy.
How about one more?
There’s me about 7 years ago. Weight Watchers man, Weight Watchers. It really works.
I just realized there’s a theme going on here. I guess I have a little evil devil in me, and it’s also good timing for Halloween.
I meant to do that.
Okay enough reminiscing, let’s get onto the reason I was so plump in the first place. Food. Big food. Creamy food. Food with lots of unbalanced nutrients. Fat, sugar, carbs. You get the idea.
Today’s recipe is a throwback to the days when I ate whatever I wanted, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Here it is friends: Twix Candy Bites.
I’ve been wanting to make Twix bars at home now for a while, and I finally gave in and decided to make them. Also my husband wouldn’t stop bugging me to get it done. Guess I shouldn’t have mentioned it. In any case, I decided that I didn’t like any of the recipes I could find for homemade Twix bars as they all had either a prepackaged cracker crust or a shortbread crust. Neither of these are really Twix like to me. It should have a crunch to it and be somewhat like a cracker, but sweeter. So I set out to make my own version. What I found was it’s not as easy as it looks. Cookies are hard to make crispy and I didn’t want to burn it. So I settled on pretty crispy, and not crumbly like shortbread. The caramel layer I left to the experts, namely David Leibovitz. His salted butter caramel looked perfect, and chewy, and dark. Yum.
After making the cookie and caramel layers and testing it out, I decided they were too rich to be bars, but would instead make fantastic little chocolate candies. And so it was. These would be perfect for giving away as part of your Christmas baking, or even as a hostess gift at your next get together. Either way, you should make some tout suite (that’s French for “right now!”).
Homemade Twix Candy Bites
Yield: 40 bite size chocolates
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutesCookie Layer:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
60 grams unsalted butter, refrigerator cold and cubed
1 tbsp vanilla
5 Tbsp heavy cream1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour sugar and salt.
3. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or two forks until a fine crumb like consistency is formed.
4. Mix the vanilla and cream together and pour into the dry ingredients.
5. Mix until a dough forms (it may be crumbly, this is fine).
6. Press into a greased 8″ square pan.
7. Prick with a fork to avoid puffiness and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a golden brown colour develops over the surface.
8. If it puffs up after removing from oven, push down gently with your hands.
9. Cool completely.Caramel Layer:
Adapted from David Leibovitz3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 cup yellow sugar (or use granulated)
60 grams salted butter + 2 tbsp, cubed and at room temperature1. In a small saucepan heat heavy cream and two tablespoons of butter with vanilla and sea salt. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover it to keep warm.
2. In a larger saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the golden syrup with the sugar. Stir constantly until the sugar melts then stir only to avoid hot spots until it reaches 310°F.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the warm cream mixture (careful, it may spit at you.)
4. Return to the heat and cook to 260°F.
5. Remove from the heat, lift out the thermometer and stir in the cubes of butter.
6. Pour over the cooled cookie crust and allow to come to room temperature.
7. When it is cooled, cut into 1″ x 1″ squares.Chocolate Coating
6 oz Semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz Semi-sweet chocolate1. In the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water, bring chocolate up to 115°F. Stir constantly.
2. Drop in last two ounces of chocolate, remove from heat and bring down to 80°F. Stir frequently.
3. Bring chocolate back up to 91°F (do not go over 91°F), remove the leftovers from the two hunks of solid chocolate and start dipping the squares into it. Try to keep the chocolate around 88-91°F. Rewarm when necessary.
4. Lay chocolates on a wax paper sheet and allow to harden. May also be cooled in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container.
Similarly delicious recipes from other blogs:
Twix Tart on Dessert First
Twix Cheesecake Pie on Recipe Girl
Homemade Halloween Candy Bar on The Kitchn
Payday Candy Bars on Eating Out Loud
Homemade Almond Joy on Joy the Baker
Awesome photos, Elizabeth. I’m a believer in Weight Watchers too. In fact, I need to jump back on that bandwagon. I’d rather just eat a handful of your homemade Twix, though. I LOVE Twix – they’re one of my favorites. Which is why I need to sign myself back up on WW.
Ah, maybe tomorrow. 🙂
Oh. MY. Those photos!!
What a cute kid you were!! Love the flashbacks. I should do a few. I had the 80’s perm, bangs and all.
These bars. You’re outdone yourself. I’m guessing they ship well…is there anything in Quebec you’re wanting? 😉
Aimee @ Simple Bites recently posted..Roasting Pumpkin 101- How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Purée
Those pics are hilarious! But the candy… those are better! 😉
Seriously? Seriously!! Dear lord you are A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Please give your hubby a hug from me from nagging you into doing this 🙂
Tickled Red recently posted..Pumpkin Carving Shenanigans
These look awesome! Happy Halloween!
Maria recently posted..Apple Cinnamon Bread
Your courage in showing us your high school photo is nothing compared to the will power you must have showed to get the picture done before all the Twix Bites were gone! PS Linked to your gorgeous pumpkin soup on my Top 5 Friday post today. Thanks! Theresa
Island Vittles recently posted..Sunday Lunch Sardinian Couscous amp Wild Morel Risotto
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post—lots of good stuff. At first I thought those kids in the pic were your kids. Your kids look a lot like you when you were young. That is such a breathtaking photo, too. All that greenery! Sigh. I live in “concrete nation” over here and would love that type of vista. And wow, I love your cute pixie cut in the costume photo. So flattering. I can wholeheartedly understand the fight between food and weight. I fluctuate by like 20 lbs. depending on how self-indulgent I feel that year.
Those chocolates look really refined, a whole world nicer than Twix, though I’m not talkin’ smack against Twix. I love me some Twix 🙂 I can picture myself sitting on a couch popping them one by one Peggy Bundy-style.
Irina@PastryPal recently posted..How to become a Professional Pastry Chef
Pictures are great…but those candies…Chocolate heaven…
norma recently posted..DID YOU SAY VEGETABLES
Yum – these will be one of my contributions to our office Christmas party – I’m excited already 🙂
that looks so cute and delicious! I love twix and I love makng homemade versions of commercial candy bars…yours looks so yummy. Oh, and I love the fact that the cookie base has heavy cream, that’s weird for a cookie but interesting and delicious! Thanks!
-Amalia
http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com
Amalia recently posted..Would You Choose Water Over Wine
This is so good! Lately I have been inclined towards avoiding commercial stuff and going homemade. Though I have never really attempted making something like this. CUTE!
Really cute flashback pics. We all have them, you are just the brave one to actually share them!
Love the recipe, too. Bite size candies are so good!
Serena @ Seriously Soupy recently posted..Essential Soup Books for Every Soup Lover
Look delicious….and…hint, hint….a suitable offering to Granpa Guilty’s sweet tooth….
These are just the thing I was looking for! I was trying to find something homemade to mail to a pregnant friend on her birthday. Chocolate, salty and sweet, can it get any better for a pregnant woman? Thanks so much for hitting the spot!
I’m pretty sure these little treats are not on the Weight Watchers’ list! Love that picture of you all in black, not to mention the adorable pic of you and your dad. Very cute!
Love the mini Twix candies Elizabeth! You did it, you finally did it, you posted your old pictures! How does it feel?
These bites look like the perfect snack!
Eliana recently posted..Chocolate Waffles
Wow! The Twix Candy Bites look delish! I’ll definitely be giving these a try during the holidays!
Mmm I love me some twix. I really wanna try to make these.
Kita recently posted..Spaghetti alla carbonara
I’ve always wanted to make twix bar.. and seeing them here is just the nudge I needed.
Shaheen recently posted..The Flavour Thesaurus
These look great, what a lovely idea. I’m not really a chocolate person, but Twix are my favourite chocolate bar. Probably mostly cause it is mostly biscuit and caramel. I will have to try these out and report back! Thanks.
Those look FABULOUS!
These look like they will satisfy a chocolate craving.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Erickson and Aimée WimbushBourque, Elizabeth Nyland. Elizabeth Nyland said: Homemade Twix in bite sized form, and with a more adult flair. Plus an embarrassing history of my high school… http://fb.me/MIYJlCUJ […]
[…] scan facebook and twitter on my iPod Touch, but that’s about it. I did find this recipe for homemade Twix and really want to try it, but I think I would need the kids out of the house for the day to […]
[…] on Guilty Kitchen Idle Hand Bars on Guilty Kitchen Compound Butters Tutorial on Guilty Kitchen Homemade Twix Candy Bites on Guilty Kitchen Elizabeth November 8th, 2010 | Print This […]
[…] Homemade Twix bars. Yup, that’s right. We tried two recipes, thankfully, because one was a flop and one was a success right down to the […]
[…] Not without Salt Foodie with Family One Bite at a Time Back to the Cutting Board Cooking Books Guilty Kitchen […]
[…] One year ago: Homemade Twix Candy Bites Chocolate […]
[…] 6 oz Semi-sweet chocolate, chopped 2 oz Semi-sweet chocolate Chocolate Coating 1. In the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water, bring chocolate up to 115°F. Stir constantly. Homemade Twix Candy Bites Recipe | Guilty Kitchen […]