A favorite thing

I am excited to post another recipe from my mom....Twix candies! These are absolutely delicious and I know she gets requests for them all the time. If you enjoy candy making or do-it-yourself foods, this is definitely one to try.

My husband, Kevin, is a great fan of Twix candy bars, so when I originally found this recipe several years ago, I was excited to try it! I had never seen one of these ‘copy-cat’ books up until this time, and had no idea they even existed! What are the odds that the first one I pick up has a Twix recipe?! (Apparently pretty good!) Hooray!

I actually thought it might be harder than it sounded in the book, or maybe just wouldn’t turn out at all. But I thought, “Hey! Someone made it, somewhere. And if they can do it, so can I!” Needless to say, the recipe turned out, and I have been making it ever since!

Twix Candy

35 Caramels (I usually just buy a 14 oz bag of Kraft caramels, which have about 50)

¼ cup water

1 box Nabisco Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies

2-12oz bags Milk Chocolate Morsels (I use ½ semi-sweet morsels)

Step 1: Combine unwrapped caramels with water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until caramels have melted and the two ingredients are fully combined.

Step 2: Place cookies side-by-side on a parchment or waxed-paper lined cookie sheet.

Step 3: Drop a small dab of the melted caramel onto each cookie. If you have lots left over, go back and drop a second dab of caramel on each. Place tray in refrigerator for about 45 minutes, or until caramel has set up quite firm.

Step 4: Melt chocolate chips in microwavable bowl for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval, until chocolate is melted and smooth. DON’T cook for longer than 30 seconds at a time!

Step 5: Remove about 1/3 of the cookies at a time, leaving the rest in the refrigerator to stay cool. This makes it so much easier to coat with chocolate. If the caramel starts getting soft again, place cookies back in refrigerator for a few minutes.

Step 6: Working quickly, drop your first cookie caramel side down into the bowl of melted chocolate. Using a fork, flip the cookie over to coat other side. If any cookie is still exposed, use your fork to push some chocolate over the exposed areas. Obviously, any area not covered with chocolate now, won’t be covered later. I use two forks now, and once I have lifted the cookie up with my right fork, I gently tap that fork on the side of the bowl to help any dripping chocolate to fall back into the bowl, and I then go to place the cookie on the parchment or waxed-paper covered tray, using my left fork to help to slide it off, trying not to damage the chocolates’ surface too much.

This is not a professional approach to candy dipping, by any means. There are candy-dipping ‘forks’ and other useful utensils available at most craft stores. For technique, you may want to peruse some websites that have step-by-step photos or even a video. I use this method because the Internet was not around when I first started making candy! I gleaned what I could from every book, article and recipe and came up with this method, which works for me.

Step 7: Continue working until all cookies are coated with chocolate. If your caramel seems a bit soft, just place your tray back in the refrigerator, or only take a few out at a time. Again, remember to work quickly since your chocolate is easiest to work with when warm and will become harder and harder to work with as it cools down. If your chocolate does become too hard to work with, simply reheat at 30 second intervals. One or two 30-second zaps should be all that’s necessary.

Step 8: Let cool in refrigerator, or if you’re in a hurry, the freezer works great! Once your chocolate has set, remove from tray and place in an air-tight container. I like to place small pieces of waxed paper between each cookie. I then place them back in the refrigerator. I honestly don’t know how long they will keep in the refrigerator or the freezer since ours have never lasted more than two days. If you find out…let me know. Enjoy!