Vegan Twix Cookie Cups

These vegan cookie cups tastes JUST like a ‘Twix’ bar, but better!

With a light, buttery shortbread cookie cup, a core of luxurious gooey, chewy caramel, topped with a layer of rich dark chocolate, they’re absolutely scrumptious!

Watch me make these cookie cups here.

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What is a Twix bar?

Twix is a caramel shortbread bar, wrapped in chocolate. It’s in the ‘candy’ category as it’s a sweet snack.

If you’re missing Twix bars, you’ve come to the right place.

Unfortunately, classic / original Twix bars aren’t vegan. This means we have to get creative in the kitchen and create a mind blowing alternative, and this is it!!!

It comes as no surprise, I am a HUGE candy fan. In particular, caramel. I simply can’t get enough of the stuff. It’s literally liquid gold.

When you pair caramel with chocolate something magical happens. The sweetness and chewiness of the caramel mixed with rich and decadent chocolate are so perfect together! It creates the perfect balance of sweet, rich and salty (if you add a dash of salt for a salted caramel).

Why you NEED to make these cookie cups:

They taste IDENTICAL to Twix bars, but better! You have all the three main elements of a Twix bar (the shortbread, caramel and of course, chocolate), but the flavours are so much better.

They’re extremely easy to make. Nothing beats an easy recipe, especially when it contains deliciousness such as shortbread and caramel – YUM!!

The caramel is INCREDIBLE, and it has the perfect ooey, gooey texture. It’s not too hard like toffee, or runny, but instead has that consistency of when you bite into the cup or break it open, it stretches out. OH MY GOODNESS, It’s heavenly!

The textures blend perfectly together. The shortbread has enough butter in to make it ‘melt in your mouth’ while having a slight crunch / crispy outside. The caramel is gooey (as we’ve already established), and the final layer (or should i say chocolate disk) on top gives a delicious rich aspect.

I won’t ever stop thinking about this combination! It’s simply dreamy!!!

They’re 100% vegan, not that you can even tell! They’re incredibly tasty and full of flavour!

They can be made gluten-free. Swap out the plain (wheat) flour with a gluten-free alternative and voila, gluten-free Twix cookie cups ready to devour!

Looking for more caramel recipes? Look no further:

Vegan Caramel Popcorn Cupcakes

Vegan Salted Caramel Popcorn Cake

Vegan Caramel Shortbread Biscuits

The Best Vegan Carrot Cake with Caramel

Easy Salted Caramel Tartlets

Equipment you’ll need to make these cookie cups:

A cookie tin.You can use a cookie cup tin, but I found using an actual cupcake tin with liners worked perfectly and gave a really nice shape and homemade feel to the cups.

Cupcake liners. I like to use liners while making cookie cups as opposed to greasing the tin as I find this way much less stressful when it comes to removing the cups from the tin. They have a tendency to stick, even if you use oil to grease the tin. Liners are the way!!!!

A kitchen thermometer. You’ll need a thermometer to hand whilst making caramel. The thermometer will help you achieve the PERFECT caramel each time!

A small saucepan. Essentially for making the caramel and melting the chocolate.

A bowl- For making the dough.

Wooden spoon / heat proof spatula-Great for making the caramel and ganache! Both will need to be stirred consistently, so its great to have one at hand when needed!

Notes*

What vegan block butter to use?

My favourite vegan / dairy-free block butters are ‘Naturli Vegan Block’ or Flora Plant Based Block Butter Alternative (salted or unsalted).

What is golden syrup?

Golden syrup is a thick, amber-coloured treacle. It is sweet in flavour and when used in caramel, helps to prevent crystallising.

Preparation: 2 hours

Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Makes: 6-8

Level: Easy

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Ingredients for the cookie cup

250g of plain flour
40g of caster sugar
200g of dairy-free butter / margarine

Ingredients for the caramel

90ml of dairy-free cream
20g of dairy-free block butter (see notes*)
40g of golden syrup (see notes*)
50g of caster sugar

Ingredients for the chocolate topping

80g of dairy-free dark chocolate
80ml of dairy-free cream

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Method (cookie cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan and like a cupcake tin with cupcake cases. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the flour and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add in the softened butter / margarine and using your fingertips, rub the softened butter / margarine into the flour and sugar mixture until a crumbly dough forms.

3. Roll the dough into 45g balls and place into each lined cupcake case. Flatten slightly with your finger tips.

Place into the middle of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden in colour.

4. As the cookie will set quite quickly, you want to immediately press the middle of the cookie with the end of a rolling pin, or spoon (something which is a little smaller than the cookie so it creates a dip in the cooke creating a ‘cookie cup’, ready for filling. Set aside while you make the caramel.

Method (caramel)

1. In a small saucepan, pour in the dairy-free cream and 10g of the butter. Place on the hob, heat on low until the cream is bubbling and the butter has melted. Set aside. Stir to prevent burning with a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula.

2. In a separate saucepan, add in the golden syrup and caster sugar. Heat over low / medium, stirring consistently. Using a kitchen / candy thermometer, you want the mixture to come up to 145ºC.

3. Once it’s reached it’s temperature, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the cream mixture. Stir vigorously to combine. It will steam and bubble but that’s normal.

Return the pan to the heat, and allow it to come up to 116ºC (also known as the soft ball stage, meaning the caramel will be chewy and not too hard / runny). Once at 116ºC, immediately remove from heat and stir in the remaining 10g of butter.

4. This caramel will set quite quickly, so pour immediately into each cookie cup 3/4 full. Set aside.

Alternatively, place the cookie cups in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Method (chocolate topping)

1. Place the dairy-free cream into a saucepan. Gently heat until it comes to a light simmer, then turn off the heat.

2. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream, stir to combine.

3. Carefully pour some of the ganache on-top of each cookie cup. Level with the back of a spoon or knife. Place in the fridge until set.

The cookie cups should feel firm, but the caramel will have a delicious chew to it, while the chocolate should ‘melt in the mouth’.

Enjoy!

To store:

Store these cookie cups in a sealed container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Best eaten within 4 days of making.