Don’t be fooled! Just because the title of this recipe says ‘healthy’, these healthy vegan twix bars taste just like the regular thing.
Ok, maybe not EXACTLY like an actual Twix bar but these come in pretty close in terms of taste, texture and looks.
Think crispy and crunchy shortbread, with a silky smooth vanilla caramel made from dates, coated in a layer of smooth dark chocolate. Could dessert sound any better?!
But it gets better!
Not only do these homemade twix bars taste amazing, they’re also vegan, refined sugar-free, sweetened with dates and naturally gluten-free! You’re welcome.
Navigation Menu
Click on each link to easily navigate this blog post.
- Jump to the recipe
- Ingredients you’ll need
- How to make these Twix bars
- Tips and tricks
- But are these Twix bars actually healthy?
Healthy Vegan Twix Bars Ingredients
The best part about this vegan twix bars recipe (besides tasting insanely good) is that you only need 7 ingredients. Which are most likely already in your pantry!
So here’s your grocery list.
- Blanched almond flour – make sure you’re using blanched almond flour so the color of the shortbread crust is light
- Sunflower butter or Peanut butter
- Maple syrup or Honey
- Dates – I recommend using Medjool dates
- Dark chocolate – I love using Hu Gems
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
How to Make Homemade Twix Bars
Ok bear with me, because while there are minimal ingredients the process to make these is a few steps.
But I’m breaking it down into a digestible plan so you can easily make these yourself. That said, if you’re making this recipe and feel stuck or have any questions, feel free to DM me over on Instagram.
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining a square oven-safe pan with parchment paper. I recommend using a smaller square cake pan, about 6×6 so that the crust is not too thin.
- Next, pit all of the Medjool dates and add them into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes to soak.
- While the dates are soaking, make the cookie layer. In a mixing bowl, add in the almond flour, sunflower butter, honey/maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.
- Mix the cookie crust together with a spatula until the dough begins to look crumbly. At this point, I like to finish mixing the dough together using my hands. It helps make everything stick together and it’s also easier and faster than using the spatula.
- Add the cookie crust dough into the parchment lined pan and press down firmly to pack the dough into the pan. One trick is to use the bottom of a cup to really pack the dough into the pan and ensure it’s even and flat on top.
- Pop the dough into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the cookie crust is baking, make the date caramel. Drain the dates that have been soaking and add them into a blender — a mini food processor or small blender like a Ninja also work. Add in the cashew milk, vanilla extract and salt.
- Blend the mixture together, stopping now and then to scrape down the sides. Continue to blend on high speed until the caramel looks smooth, thick and creamy. There should be no date chunks left.
- At this point the cookie crust should be done baking. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then spread on the caramel overtop of the crust and place the entire pan in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
- While the cookie crust and caramel are setting in the freezer you can melt the chocolate. If the chocolate seems a little thick, add in 1 tbsp of coconut oil to thin it out.
- Take the Twix bars out from the freezer and remove from the pan using the parchment paper to lift it out onto a cutting board. Cut the Twix bars into 12 equal pieces — I cut the block in half lengthwise and then made five cuts horizontally to get 12 Twix-sized bars.
- Next, dip one of the Twix bars in the chocolate, using your fingers or a fork and spoon. Make sure to fully submerge the bar in the chocolate. Gently let the excess chocolate drip off before returning the Twix bar back to the parchment paper. Repeat with all of the bars.
- Return the chocolate coated Twix bars to the freezer to set for 20-30 minutes before enjoying.
- For presentation, you can add a sprinkle of flaky salt on top of each bar.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Vegan Twix Bars
Pencils out, because I’m dropping all the secrets to making these healthy twix bars perfectly!
- Use a small cake pan: I used a 6×6 square cake pan which was the perfect size for the amount of cookie crust. However, if you don’t have this size pan, you can use a larger pan and only fill half of the pan with the crust. This requires some finesse lol, but it’s important that the crust isn’t too thin.
- Make the layers even: When you’re making the cookie crust layer, make sure that it’s about ¼” thick. That way it’ll be the same thickness as the date caramel layer. So you’ll have the perfect cross section when you bite into the bar.
- Use clean parchment: When you’re cutting the twix bars, if the parchment paper is getting messy, transfer all of the bars to a new piece of parchment paper. This way, when they’re dipped in melted chocolate, the chocolate won’t get messed up with crumbs.
- Melt the chocolate in a deep bowl: I recommend melting the chocolate in a deep bowl, that way you can fully submerge each twix bar in the chocolate easily. If the bowl is too shallow it’ll be super hard to do so — trust me, I learned the hard way.
But Are These Homemade Twix Bars Actually Healthy?
To illustrate just how healthy these Twix bars are, I’ve made an entire side-by-side comparison with the OG Twix bar ingredients.
Twix Bar Ingredients:
- Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Skim Milk, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor)
- Glucose Syrup
- Wheat Flour
- Sugar
- Palm Oil
- Less Than 2% – Skim Milk, Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali, Salt, Baking Soda, Natural Flavors.
MWM Twix Bar Ingredients:
- Almonds
- Sunflower butter
- Honey
- Dates
- Dark chocolate
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
You tell me which ingredients you want to be eating…
Essentially, I’ve tried to take the components of the twix bar and use whole-foods to make the bar taste as good (if not better) while keeping the ingredients healthy and nutrient dense.
The crust is made from almonds, sunflower butter and honey — making these into a protein twix bar recipe. Which is great as the protein and healthy fats help decrease the insulin spike from the date sugar.
Additionally, instead of using a traditional caramel with heavy cream, cane sugar, corn syrup etc. I made a healthier caramel using dates. Making it taste just as good, but with whole-food ingredients that are chock full of nutrients.
To summarize, these twix bars are packed with whole-food ingredients that are nutrients dense and packed with vitamins and minerals. So you can eat dessert and still feel your best!
Even More Healthy Vegan Dessert Recipes
Made This Recipe?
Please leave a review below and don’t forget to snap and picture and tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @munchingwithmariyah — I love seeing your photos!
Healthy Vegan Twix Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 112 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Think crispy and crunchy shortbread, with a silky smooth vanilla caramel made from dates, coated in a layer of smooth dark chocolate. Could dessert get any better?!
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup sunflower butter or peanut butter
- 3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Date Caramel
- 15 juicy medjool dates
- 3 tbsp cashew milk or almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
Chocolate
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips, preferably refined sugar-free
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil (optional, use only if the chocolate is too thick)
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining a square oven-safe pan with parchment paper. I recommend using a smaller square cake pan, about 6×6 so that the crust is not too thin.
- Next, pit all of the medjool dates and add them into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes to soak.
- While the dates are soaking, make the cookie layer. In a mixing bowl, add in the almond flour, sunflower butter, honey/maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.
- Mix the cookie crust together with a spatula until the dough begins to look crumbly. At this point, I like to finish mixing the dough together using my hands. It helps make everything stick together and it’s also easier and faster than using the spatula.
- Add the cookie crust dough into the parchment lined pan and press down firmly to pack the dough into the pan. One trick is to use the bottom of a cup to really pack the dough into the pan and ensure it’s even and flat on top. Pop the dough into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the cookie crust is baking, make the date caramel. Drain the dates that have been soaking and add them into a blender — a mini food processor or small blender like a Ninja also work.
- Add in the cashew milk, vanilla extract and salt. Blend the mixture together, stopping now and then to scrape down the sides. Continue to blend on high speed until the caramel looks smooth, thick and creamy. There should be no date chunks left.
- At this point the cookie crust should be done baking. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then spread on the caramel overtop of the crust and place the entire pan in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
- While the cookie crust and caramel are setting in the freezer you can melt the chocolate. If the chocolate seems a little thick, add in 1 tbsp of coconut oil to thin it out.
- Take the Twix bars out from the freezer and remove from the pan using the parchment paper to lift it out onto a cutting board. Cut the Twix bars into 12 equal pieces — I cut the block in half lengthwise and then made five cuts horizontally to get 12 Twix-sized bars.
- Next, dip one of the Twix bars in the chocolate, using your fingers or a fork and spoon. Make sure to fully submerge the bar in the chocolate. Gently let the excess chocolate drip off before returning the Twix bar back to the parchment paper. Repeat with all of the bars.
- Return the chocolate coated Twix bars to the freezer to set for 20-30 minutes before enjoying. For presentation, you can add a sprinkle of flaky salt on top of each bar.
Aaishah adam says
Hi I was wondering could I use almond or cashew butter for this recipe instead? By the way I love your recipes it’s so helpful to have easy snack recipes your blog never lets me down when I need one
Jeffrey Weekes says
Hello, I am looking forward to trying this out as it sounds delish! I noticed though that there is now indication of how much maple syrup to use?
Could use that info before I begin.
Thanks!
Jeff
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Whoops, totally forgot to add it; just updated the recipe!
S. Scott says
Hi there! I’ve been loving your recipes, what suggestion do you have for subbing out almond flour or almond milk if you have an almond allergy?