You will be in candy bar heaven when you sink your teeth into these Homemade Salted Caramel Twix Bars! These delicious bars start with a crispy shortbread cookie base, then layered with a homemade salted caramel and finished with a silky bittersweet chocolate coating.

Twix bars were definitely one of my favorite childhood candy bars growing up! There's just something about that shiny gold wrapper and finding 2 twix bars snugly nestled together inside. It's probably one of the best candy bar inventions!

Be sure to check out our other favorite childhood candies recipes - Biscoff Kit Kat Bars and Cookie Butter Cups!

The twix bars we are making today, however, will be getting a mini grown-up makeover. We are making a salted caramel from scratch, coating them with bittersweet chocolate and then topping with flaky sea salt! Flaky sea salt just makes everything so fancy, don't you think? 🙂

HOW DO YOU MAKE TWIX BARS?

Shortbread Cookie Layer

1. We will start by making the shortbread cookie base. With a hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat room temperature butter, white sugar, salt and vanilla extract on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add flour and mix on low just until combined.

3. Transfer the dough into a parchment lined 8x8 inch (20.32 x 20.32 cm) square pan.

4. Pressed the dough evenly into the pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes at 350ºF (176ºC). Let cool in the pan while we make the salted caramel.

Salted Caramel Layer

Throw out your store-bought caramel! You will see how easy it is to make salted caramel from scratch. With only 5 simple pantry ingredients and in 15 minutes, you will have the best homemade salted caramel.

1. Add sugar to a clean heavy bottomed saucepan.

2. On medium to low heat, allow sugar to dissolve. It will get clumpy and start to brown before it dissolves completely. Whisk often and be careful not to burn it! This will take about 10 minutes or so.

3. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, it will become thick and the color will be an amber brown. See photo below.

4. Add your room temperature butter to the pan. It will foam and bubble up rapidly, but stay calm. You're doing it right! Keep whisking until the butter is completely combined. You're half way done!

5. Next, add the heavy cream to the pot in a slow stream and whisk. The cream will also bubble up like crazy (as you can see below), but keep whisking until combined. About another minute.

6. Turn the heat off and stir in the salt and vanilla extract. And that's it! Let it cool for about 5 minutes.

7. Pour slightly cooled caramel onto your shortbread cookie base.

8. Gently swirl to evenly distribute the caramel. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Final Touches

1. Remove the cookie/caramel base out of the pan by the parchment sling.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut your bars into 16 even pieces. Start by cutting it in half lengthwise and then half again. You will have 4 equal squares at this point. Now cut each square into 4 equal bars (see photo below). You will end up with 16 bars. And don't worry, they don't need to be perfect. They will be delicious regardless! Place in the freezer for about 15 to firm up.

3. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave in 15 second bursts. Or melt in a double boiler.

4. Remove bars from the freezer. Using a fork, coat each bar in the melted chocolate one at a time and place on a large lined baking tray. You can add some decorative chocolate drizzles and flakey sea salt on top if you'd like. Place the tray of bars into the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up. Enjoy!!