Love Twix Bars? You’ll LOVE these Twix Brownies!
It’s official: my kids are all too cool for their mom’s classic (and delicious, mind you!) chocolate birthday cake. My five year old is too good for her mom’s incredibly moist, highly requested by everyone else not in my family’s--chocolate birthday cake. What gives??
Maybe it’s not so much the chocolate cake they don’t like and it’s more that they have more refined tastes now and are looking to be a bit more adventurous for their birthday treats. That’s what I keep telling myself. We love making all kinds of delicious new recipes for sweet treats and baked goods around here so I don’t think I can blame them for 3 of the 5 of the people wanting chocolate lasagna for their birthday this last year. There’s nothing wrong with that!
So my husband’s birthday was most recently and I found the perfect treat I thought he would love for his celebratory birthday dessert. The man loves a good brownie and loves Twix bars, so when I saw the recipe for “Twix brownies” from the blog, Life in the Lofthouse, I knew I had to make those for him. All I had to do was give him a 1-second glimpse of them (you gotta keep it somewhat of a surprise!) and he was sold!
It starts with a delicious layer of made-from-scratch brownies on the bottom, followed by a layer of cream cheese and shortbread cookies and a little bit of granulated sugar, which not surprisingly happens to be my favorite layer! Anything with cream cheese and I am there! Anyone else with me on that? After the beloved cream cheese/shortbread layer comes a smooth caramel layer and there is the coolest thing I need to tell you about caramel these days that you need to know about if you don’t already. You know when you are making caramel apples, or any other recipe that uses those wrapped Kraft soft caramels? Well you don’t have to unwrap anymore!! Yay! Kraft makes a bag of “caramel bits” that you can find in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips that are just small versions of the same caramel that are unwrapped and ready to easily be melted.
Lastly, to top this decadent dessert all off, you melt milk chocolate chips with a little bit of shortening to create a lovely biteable, hardened chocolate layer on top that seals the deal.
I cut them in a typical brownie portion of about 3 inches by 3 inches that was WAY too much! This little treat is so rich and decadent, you can totally just cut them into little brownie bite size squares of about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches and that will be perfect. And I won’t judge you if you’ve got a major sweet tooth and can eat two or three! ;) These would be a major hit at any potluck party or shower you will be going to. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love a combo of brownies, caramel, cream cheese and milk chocolate!
Do you typically have a classic birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays in your family? Or do you make that person’s favorite treat of choice? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
BROWNIE LAYER:
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups , all-purpose flour
SHORTBREAD LAYER:
1 box (10 ounces) Lorna Doone's shortbread cookies
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
CARAMEL LAYER:
1 bag (11 ounces) caramel bits
2 tablespoons milk
CHOCOLATE LAYER:
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Maybe it’s not so much the chocolate cake they don’t like and it’s more that they have more refined tastes now and are looking to be a bit more adventurous for their birthday treats. That’s what I keep telling myself. We love making all kinds of delicious new recipes for sweet treats and baked goods around here so I don’t think I can blame them for 3 of the 5 of the people wanting chocolate lasagna for their birthday this last year. There’s nothing wrong with that!
So my husband’s birthday was most recently and I found the perfect treat I thought he would love for his celebratory birthday dessert. The man loves a good brownie and loves Twix bars, so when I saw the recipe for “Twix brownies” from the blog, Life in the Lofthouse, I knew I had to make those for him. All I had to do was give him a 1-second glimpse of them (you gotta keep it somewhat of a surprise!) and he was sold!
It starts with a delicious layer of made-from-scratch brownies on the bottom, followed by a layer of cream cheese and shortbread cookies and a little bit of granulated sugar, which not surprisingly happens to be my favorite layer! Anything with cream cheese and I am there! Anyone else with me on that? After the beloved cream cheese/shortbread layer comes a smooth caramel layer and there is the coolest thing I need to tell you about caramel these days that you need to know about if you don’t already. You know when you are making caramel apples, or any other recipe that uses those wrapped Kraft soft caramels? Well you don’t have to unwrap anymore!! Yay! Kraft makes a bag of “caramel bits” that you can find in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips that are just small versions of the same caramel that are unwrapped and ready to easily be melted.
Lastly, to top this decadent dessert all off, you melt milk chocolate chips with a little bit of shortening to create a lovely biteable, hardened chocolate layer on top that seals the deal.
I cut them in a typical brownie portion of about 3 inches by 3 inches that was WAY too much! This little treat is so rich and decadent, you can totally just cut them into little brownie bite size squares of about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches and that will be perfect. And I won’t judge you if you’ve got a major sweet tooth and can eat two or three! ;) These would be a major hit at any potluck party or shower you will be going to. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love a combo of brownies, caramel, cream cheese and milk chocolate!
Do you typically have a classic birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays in your family? Or do you make that person’s favorite treat of choice? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Twix Brownies
Twix Brownies taste like the famous candy bar with the caramel and shortbread layers. The brownie layer at the bottom take them to that next level of delicious. These are the ultimate dessert bar!
Serving size: 12
Calories per serving: 585
Ingredients:
Calories per serving: 585
BROWNIE LAYER:
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups , all-purpose flour
SHORTBREAD LAYER:
1 box (10 ounces) Lorna Doone's shortbread cookies
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
CARAMEL LAYER:
1 bag (11 ounces) caramel bits
2 tablespoons milk
CHOCOLATE LAYER:
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Directions:
1. BROWNIES: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13-inch glass baking pan with non-stick spray. Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until just combined. Add salt, cocoa powder and flour gradually to wet mixture until combined. Don't over mix. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly. Bake 25 to 28 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
2. SHORTBREAD LAYER: Place shortbread cookies in a food processor and crush until fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a bowl and add cream cheese and sugar. Beat with a hand-mixer until combined. Press this mixture evenly over cooled brownies.
3. CARAMEL LAYER: Place caramel bits and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Pour over shortbread layer. Place in fridge to let cool completely.
4. CHOCOLATE LAYER: Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Pour over caramel layer. Place in fridge to let brownies set before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes:
*This recipe makes 12 large brownies or 24 small brownies.
Source: life-in-the-lofthouse.com
2. SHORTBREAD LAYER: Place shortbread cookies in a food processor and crush until fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a bowl and add cream cheese and sugar. Beat with a hand-mixer until combined. Press this mixture evenly over cooled brownies.
3. CARAMEL LAYER: Place caramel bits and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Pour over shortbread layer. Place in fridge to let cool completely.
4. CHOCOLATE LAYER: Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Pour over caramel layer. Place in fridge to let brownies set before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes:
*This recipe makes 12 large brownies or 24 small brownies.
Source: life-in-the-lofthouse.com
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
