Homemade Twix. OMG.

Today I made these...

Dangerously, delicious, homemade Twix bars.

Tomorrow J will be taking them out of the house.  I can't be trusted.

When I was pregnant with R.  I would buy cases, yes cases, of Twix chocolate bars from Costco.  The same cases that grocery stores and gas stations buy to sell to customers, I was buying for me, myself and I, oh and baby R.  Twix bars = me in my pregnant glory.  I'm surprised R's first word wasn't Twix, that she didn't come out smelling like chocolate and caramel, or that we both didn't develop diabetes.  I was on a sugar high for months.

After I had R, I still loved/craved Twix, but I thought it best if we took some time off.  A break if you will.  I needed to shed some baby Twix weight, and eating pound for pound of chocolaty/shortbready/caramely goodness wasn't the way to go about it.  Why is it that Twix bars don't have the same nutritional needs as kale or tuna?  It's 2012, someone needs to figure out how to make vegetables taste like chocolate.  But until that day comes, I'm now ready to allow this chocolate bar back into my life.  On occasion.  And today is that occasion.  Tomorrow it's over.

....Oh and in case you are wondering.  No, I'm not pregnant.  Our family is perfectly complete.  1 husband, 2 kids, 1 dog.  I'm just a girl who has found her way back to her favourite chocolate bar.

Homemade Twix Bars

Ingredients:

Shortbread Layer
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel Layer
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp golden corn syrup
2 - 14oz cans sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate Layer
2 cups dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp shortening


Method:

FOR THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1-2 minutes.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Add in flour and salt and continue to beat until dough comes together.  Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press in an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until pale golden in colour.   Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:
Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.  Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly.  Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.  

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER
Combine three-quarters of the chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Don't let the water touch the bowl.)  Melt the chocolate and bring it to 100 degrees, stirring, then place the bowl in a larger bowl of cold water; stir in the remaining chocolate until melted (the temperature should drop to about 82 degrees.)  Place the bowl back over the simmering water.  Bring back up to 88 degrees.
Pour evenly over the caramel layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.  Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve.

slightly adapted from Annie Eats