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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Vegan Twix Bars (Gluten-Free)

    Last updated - July 11, 2021; Published - March 27, 2020 By Rhian Williams 16 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A vegan twix bar cut in half on top of a whole bar decorated with rose petals

    These Vegan Twix Bars are just as delicious as the real thing: a crunchy shortbread base topped with fudgy caramel coated in silky chocolate! They're not too sweet, much healthier than the traditional version and easy to make. They make excellent edible gifts for Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, and everything in between! They're also refined sugar free and gluten-free.

    A vegan twix bar cut in half on top of a whole bar decorated with rose petals

    My Vegan Snickers Bars were so popular I decided to make some more vegan chocolate bars! These Homemade Twix Bars have a shortbread base inspired by my Gluten-Free Vegan Shortbread Cookies recipe with a caramel layer inspired by my Vegan Millionaire Shortbread recipe.

    The shortbread

    The shortbread is made using a combination of ground almonds (almond meal) and brown rice flour.

    You need to use brown rice flour, not white rice flour. Using white rice flour would create a soft cookie (like my Sugar Cookies) rather than a crunchy shortbread cookie.

    If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

    The vegan caramel

    The vegan caramel is made using blended cashew nuts for creaminess, coconut sugar for a toffee-like flavour, and cacao butter for a fudgy texture.

    You can get hold of both coconut sugar and cacao butter online, in local health stores or large supermarkets.

    How to make this recipe

    Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

    • Mix together the ingredients for the dough in a glass mixing bowl.
    Shortbread cookie dough in a glass bowl
    • Transfer the mixture to a one-pound loaf tin.

    Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove after.

    • Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
    Shortbread cookie dough in a loaf tin lined with baking paper
    • Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

    Tip: Be careful not to burn it, but you want to bake it for as long as possible for it to have a crunchy texture.

    Baked shortbread cookie base in a loaf tin lined with baking paper
    • Leave to cool as you make the caramel, although it doesn't matter if it hasn’t cooled completely before putting on the caramel.
    • Place all the ingredients for the caramel into a food processor.

    Tip: If your food processor isn’t very powerful, it may have trouble with the cacao butter. In this case, melt the cacao butter first using a bain-marie before adding to the food processor.

    Cashew nuts, almond butter and coconut sugar in a food processor
    • Whizz until completely smooth - you might need to mix it around a few times.
    Vegan caramel in a food processor
    • Transfer the caramel onto the shortbread base, pushing it all the way to the edges.
    • Use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
    Vegan caramel spread over a shortbread base in a loaf tin lined with baking paper
    • Place in the freezer for about one hour until completely firmed up.
    • Making sure the caramel has firmed up completely, slice into 8 bars.
    Shortbread cookie bars topped with caramel sliced into eight bars
    • Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the coconut oil.

    Tip: Using a wide-bottomed bowl makes it easier to dip the bars into the melted chocolate.

    Dark chocolate broken into pieces with coconut oil in a white bowl
    • Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted.

    Tip: Make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.

    • Use a small fork to carefully lift the bars one at a time into the melted chocolate and spoon the melted chocolate over the bar until it has been completely covered in melted chocolate.
    A vegan twix bar being dipped into a bowl of melted chocolate with a fork
    • Use the fork to lift the bar out of the melted chocolate and onto a rectangular baking tray lined with baking paper.
    Two vegan twix bars dipped in melted chocolate on a tray lined with baking paper
    • Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the bars to decorate, if desired.
    • Place in the fridge for a couple of hours until the chocolate has hardened completely.
    A vegan twix bar cut into three pieces with a whole bar next to it on a piece of white paper

    How long do these keep for?

    They keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.

    Substitutions you can make

    • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
    • You can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter.
    • The ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.
    • You can replace the almond butter with peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or tahini.
    • For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate.

    Substitutions to be careful of

    The brown rice flour CANNOT be replaced with white rice flour or any other gluten-free flour - it is essential for the shortbread base to keep its shape and texture.

    A vegan twix bar cut in half on top of a whole bar against a grey background

    More vegan chocolate treats

    • Healthy Snickers Ice Cream Bites
    • Matcha Chocolate Truffles
    • Chocolate Truffles
    • Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles
    • White Chocolate Truffles
    • Strawberry Chocolate Truffles
    • Chocolate Bars
    • Snickers Bars

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    Watch how to make it

    A vegan twix bar cut in half on top of a whole bar decorated with rose petals

    Vegan Twix Bars (Gluten-Free)

    These Vegan Twix Bars are just as delicious as the real thing: a crunchy shortbread base topped with fudgy caramel coated in silky chocolate! They're not too sweet, much healthier than the traditional version and easy to make. They're also refined sugar free and gluten-free.
    3.80 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: homemade twix, twix bars, vegan twix
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes
    Servings: 8 bars
    Calories: 414kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the shortbread:

    • 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter)
    • 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
    • 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
    • 75 g (⅔ cup) brown rice flour **
    • Pinch salt

    For the caramel:

    • 75 g (½ cup) cashew nuts (soaked overnight in cold water or in boiling water for 15 minutes)
    • 50 g (⅓ cup) coconut sugar
    • 1 tablespoon smooth almond butter (or sub any other nut or seed butter)
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • Pinch salt
    • 20 g (0.7 oz) cacao butter *** (or sub coconut oil or coconut butter, though this will give it a coconut taste)

    For the chocolate:

    • 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate **** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
    • 1 teaspoon coconut oil

    Instructions

    For the shortbread:

    • Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit).
    • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
    • Add the maple syrup, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well – add a splash of plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
    • Transfer the mixture to a loaf tin lined with greaseproof baking paper - I used a one-pound loaf tin.
    • Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges.
    • Use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
    • Bake in oven for 25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch - be careful not to burn it, but you want to bake it for as long as possible for it to have a crunchy texture.
    • Leave to cool as you make the caramel, although it doesn’t matter if it hasn’t cooled completely before putting on the caramel.

    For the caramel:

    • Drain the soaked cashew nuts.
    • Place into a food processor with all the other ingredients.
    • Whizz until completely smooth – you might need to mix it around a few times.
    • Transfer the caramel onto the shortbread base, pushing it all the way to the edges.
    • Use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
    • Place in the freezer for one hour to firm up completely.

    For the chocolate:

    • Making sure the caramel has firmed up completely, slice it into 8 bars.
    • Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the coconut oil (using a wide-bottomed bowl makes it easier to dip the bars into the melted chocolate).
    • Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted – make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.
    • Use a small fork to carefully lift the bars one at a time into the melted chocolate and use a spoon to spoon the melted chocolate over the bar until it has been completely covered in melted chocolate.
    • Use the fork to lift the bar out of the melted chocolate and onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
    • Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the bars to decorate, if desired.
    • Place in the fridge for a couple of hours until the chocolate has hardened completely.
    • Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.

    Video

    Notes

    *You can alternatively use almond flour.
    **You MUST use brown rice flour – white rice flour won’t create a crunchy shortbread-like texture.
    ***If your food processor isn’t very powerful, it may have trouble with the cacao butter. In this case, melt the cacao butter first using a bain-marie before adding to the food processor.
    ****For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate.
    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Twix Bars (Gluten-Free)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 414 Calories from Fat 252
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 28g43%
    Saturated Fat 13g65%
    Cholesterol 1mg0%
    Sodium 20mg1%
    Potassium 311mg9%
    Carbohydrates 38g13%
    Fiber 5g20%
    Sugar 19g21%
    Protein 7g14%
    Vitamin A 10IU0%
    Calcium 62mg6%
    Iron 4mg22%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Denisse

      April 13, 2020 at 9:44 pm

      What could I use instead of cashews?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 14, 2020 at 1:02 pm

        Very well-soaked blanched almonds!

    2. soosa

      April 25, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      I really wanna make this ! looks so good

      can I replace the rice flour with sth else ?

      thanks !

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 25, 2020 at 10:24 pm

        Thank you! You can use an all purpose gluten-free flour, though the texture won't be as crunchy!

    3. Olivia

      July 28, 2021 at 2:54 pm

      3 stars
      I don’t get it; I’ve been making these for a while, successfully. And then suddenly I try it having not made them for a while and it all goes wrong. I just don’t understand. They’re still edible and nice, they’re just not the same as they were before.
      I usually bake for 25mins in a mini individual Twix shaped mould my sister bought.
      I usually use maple syrup. I tried to make the bases last night w agave as I didn’t have any maple. I know 1tbsp is a standardised 15ml so 5tbsp works out at 75ml/g. So instead of measuring 5tbsp of agave I just added 75g. Oilier than I remember it being so I add extra GF flour (not brown rice flour but Dove’s GF plain flour which I’ve used every time) and they were a little bit chewy after I let them cool. I mean I know they won’t be as crunchy as brown rice flour but they’ve never really been chewy.
      So I make them again w agave syrup. Bake them as normal, although someone in my house turns down the oven temp the last few mins as they look like they’re going to burn. Still kind of chewy.

      I make them again now, using maple syrup and measuring 5tbsp (which somehow gave me 95ml) and Dove’s GF flour (again) and it was really really oily, possibly even oilier than the last batch and I ended up throwing the mix as I was worried it would still be oily when I cooked them.
      What am I doing wrong? I’m using the same brand of coconut oil (refined so it doesn’t taste coconutty) and melting it in the warm oven while I add everything else to the bowl (which usually works) I’m using the same brand of GF flour, I’m using the same individual Twix moulds and filling each cavity with 15g of the mix and smushing it down evenly...
      I just don’t get where I’m going wrong. It’s frustrating and disappointing as I used to make these (with a different caramel made of cashew coconut condensed milk, coconut sugar and vegan butter) a lot and I miss making them and I miss being able to eat a twix.

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        August 01, 2021 at 10:03 pm

        Hi - I'm so sorry to hear about this and thank you so much for sharing your feedback. Are you use ground almonds? And have you been using the same type of ground almonds as you used to use before?

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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