These healthy Twix bites are made with a simple almond flour shortbread crust, gooey date caramel center, and, of course, a chocolate topping. Just three simple layers with only 8 ingredients. They are the perfect little treat for when the candy craving hits, but you don't want the laundry list of ingredients that come with a candy bar.
Healthy Twix Bites: Recipe at a Glance
- 🍫 Key Ingredients: Almond flour, dates, peanut butter, and semi-sweet chocolate chips (full ingredient list below).
- 🕰️ Total Time: 30 minutes.
- 🥛 Dietary Notes: Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and can be made fully refined sugar-free.
- 🍽️ Servings: 24 Twix bites.
- 💚 What makes these different: I use a no-cook date caramel layer that requires just 4 ingredients.
Why We Love These Healthy Twix Bites
- Date caramel layer. The date caramel layer is really what makes these special. You get the classic caramel flavor with no added sugar and no need to cook anything on the stove.
- Plenty for freezing. This recipe makes 24 healthy Twix bites, which are perfect for freezing. And trust me on this one, you'll be glad you have a stash in the freezer. Eating them straight from the freezer is my favorite way to eat them.
- The base and caramel layer are refined sugar-free. I use a little pure maple syrup in the shortbread base, while the date caramel is sweetened with just dates and contains no added sugars.
- Protein and fiber. Thanks to the almond flour and dates, each bite has 2g of protein and 2g of fiber. And considering I always eat 2 at a time, that's 4g of protein and 4g of fiber per serving. While not a massive amount, most candy does not do that!
I love a good, clean eating copycat treat, and these healthy Twix bites make me so happy (my healthy Samoa cookies also make me really happy). I love that these are made with ingredients I can feel good about, but still provide the classic caramel and chocolate flavor of a candy bar.
And can we just pause to talk about the caramel layer? Just like in my vegan chocolate turtles, I use dates to make the caramel layer.
Dates provide a natural caramel taste without added sugars, and there is no cooking required, unlike traditional caramel. You just have to soak the dates in hot water and blend (with a few other simple ingredients). In addition (and maybe my favorite reason), dates provide nutrients like fiber and antioxidants.
I can't decide if I like these from the fridge or freezer better, be sure to let me know if you prefer one over the other.
And for more clean eating candy recipes, be sure to check out my chocolate covered cashews and dark chocolate peanut butter balls.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Medjool dates - Be sure to use Medjool dates and not Deglet Noor. Medjool dates are softer (easier to mix) and have a more caramel-like flavor. If your dates have pits, be sure to remove them. If you have leftover dates, you can make chocolate brownie protein balls.
- Almond flour - Use almond flour and not almond meal.
- Natural peanut butter - Use drippy, natural peanut butter where the only ingredients are peanuts and maybe salt. I like Once Again brand, and Costco also has a great organic option.
- Coconut oil - While I usually recommend unrefined coconut oil, I do recommend refined in this recipe. Because of the amount used in the shortbread base, you can almost taste a little coconut. If you're okay with that, you can use unrefined. You can also use avocado oil, and if you don't need these to be dairy-free, you can use melted butter.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips - I use semi-sweet in just about everything. That said, any chocolate chips (or a chopped chocolate bar) can be used. If you need these to be dairy-free/vegan, ensure your chocolate chips are dairy-free.
A complete list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below. The above are some specific notes to help with selecting ingredients.
🤍 Sara's clean food tips: Chocolate chips should contain sugar, chocolate, and cocoa butter. My favorite brands include Equal Exchange, Enjoy Life and Hu Chocolate. Use Hu chocolate for a fully refined sugar-free treat!
How to Make Healthy Twix Bites
- Step 1: Combine almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt.
- Step 2: Evenly divide mixture between a 24-cup silicone mini muffin pan. Get your fingers wet (this prevents sticking) and evenly press the almond flour mix into each muffin cup.
- Step 3: Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-9 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
- Step 4: While the shortbread crust is baking, make the date caramel. Add the soaked dates, peanut butter, vanilla and salt to a food processor. Pulse on high until smooth and spreadable.
- Step 5: Allow shortbread base to cool and then evenly divide date caramel mix onto each shortbread layer.
- Step 6: Get the back of a spoon wet (or use your fingers) and gently and evenly spread date caramel on the shortbread crust.
- Step 7: Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Step 8: Spread melted chocolate onto each Twix bit. Allow to set at room temperature, or put them in the fridge to speed things up. Then, simply pop each one out of the muffin pan by lightly pressing up on the bottom.
Tips: Let the the shortbread crust cool 10-15 minutes before adding the date caramel layer. When spreading the date caramel over the crust, it really helps to wet the back of a spoon to spread and smooth out (this prevents sticking).
A Few Notes About Making the Date Caramel Layer
- Dates come in different sizes. I used Joolies dates when I tested this recipe, which are on the large size. When using large dates, 10 seems to be the perfect number. I measured them using smaller dates and it's about 1 ½ cups of smaller dates.
- I also weighed the dates and used 215 grams. If you have a kitchen scale, I would weigh them. Actually, a kitchen scale is pretty handy, so I highly recommend one if you don't have one.
- You need to use soaked dates. Soaking the dates in hot water significantly softens them and also adds water. This makes it easier to blend and creates a more spreadable caramel layer. Do not skip soaking them (trust me, I did once and couldn't figure out why my dates were just blending into a ball).
- Use a food processor. I blender can work in a pinch, but a food processor will give you the smoothest, most spreadable consistency.
- The date caramel layer should be thick, but spreadable. Refer to the process shots above, but you want the date mix to be thick (like a really thick cookie dough), but also spreadable. If the mix is clumping together, add more HOT water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to slowly thin.
How to Store and Freeze
To store: Store these healthy Twix bites in an airtight container. They will stay fresh on the counter for about 3 days, or store in the fridge to extend shelf life up to 1 week.
To freeze: Place these in a freezer-safe container (Stasher bags are my favorite) and freeze for up to 3 months.
As I mentioned, these are the best straight out of the freezer, so I recommend storing them in the freezer. I'm also a huge fan of my birthday cake protein balls straight from the freezer.
Recipe FAQs
A 24-cup mini muffin pan is ideal for creating that classic Twix bite size. A regular muffin pan will give you larger, thicker bites, but can be used. If you use a non-silicone muffin pan, use cupcake liners.
It's much easier to remove/"pop" these out of a silicone pan. If you use a regular muffin pan, I would use mini liners so you can easily remove them from the pan.
Add HOT water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse again. Continue until you have a thick, but spreadable caramel. A little extra soaking time will help if your dates didn't soak long enough.
Absolutely, almond butter also works great. You just want to make sure it's drippy, as this helps with the creamier texture.
More Homemade Candy Recipes to Try
Healthy Twix Bites (with date caramel)
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Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 24-cup silicone mini muffin pan
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Base
- 1 cup loosely packed almond flour (115g)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Ingredients for the Date Caramel Layer
- 10 large pitted Medjool dates (215g) (or 1 ½ cups small dates- see notes)
- 2 tablespoons drippy, natural peanut butter (make sure the peanut butter is drippy)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Chocolate Topping
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Soak the dates in a bowl of HOT water while you are making the crust.
- Make the shortbread crust by mixing together the almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt. Evenly divide the mixture among the 24 cups of the mini muffin pan. You'll use about 1 teaspoon of the mix per cup. Using your fingers, evenly push down the mix to form the crust layer in each muffin cavity (get your hands wet so the mixture doesn't stick).1 cup loosely packed almond flour (115g), 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted , 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. The centers may still feel soft. They will set as they cool. Allow shortbread bases to cool before adding the date caramel.
- While the crust is baking, make the caramel layer. Remove the dates from the water and add the soaked dates, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt to a food processor. Pulse on high until dates are smooth. The mixture will be thick, but spreadable. Add more hot water, one tablespoon at a time, if it needs to be thinned.10 large pitted Medjool dates (215g), 2 tablespoons drippy, natural peanut butter, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Evenly divide the date caramel mix on top of the cooled shortbread bases. Using the back of a small spoon, or your fingers, gently spread the date mixture to make the caramel layer (get the spoon/your fingers wet to prevent sticking). Make sure to leave enough room on the top for the melted chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl in 45-second increments until the chocolate is almost fully melted. Stir to continue melting the chocolate. Spread the melted chocolate on top of each Twix bite.¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- Allow chocolate to set at room temperature, or place in the fridge to speed up the process. Once set, push up from the bottom of each muffin cavity to remove the Twix bites.
Notes
- I use Joolies dates when I make these, which are on the large size. When using large dates, 10 seems to be the perfect number. I measured them using smaller dates and it's about 1 ½ cups of smaller dates. If you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh them and you'll use about 215 grams of dates.
- Do NOT skip soaking the dates, as they will not blend to the right texture if they haven't been soaked in hot water.
- To make these fully refined sugar-free, use Hu chocolate or another naturally sweetened chocolate.
Nutrition
Sara says
These are my favorite straight from the freezer! Love having a stash just waiting for me 🙂