Vegan Twix® Cookie Bites

Happy almost Halloween! Can you believe we’re heading into the holidays already? Halloween will be here before we know it. Then comes Thanksgiving. Then Christmas. Then New Year's. Tis the season for indulgence! And oh boy, are we indulging today. So, Halloween was the time of year when I always went all-in on the candy train. Peanut butter cups always were my favorites, but Twix® were a close second. I wasn’t a huge caramel fan as a kid (I know, I know), but Twix® were a different story entirely. Although they were loaded with a ribbon of caramel, it was that crunch from the shortbread cookie that made it all worth it for me. Plus the chocolate. Always the chocolate. So I decided to veganize the treat that made me like caramel. And oh boy, was it a delicious decision! It all starts with the shortbread. IMO, soft and chewy cookies are way better than crunchy cookies. Unless that cookie is a shortbread. Ironically, I’ve always had a soft spot for crisp shortbread cookies. That butteriness. That sweetness. I love love love them. And believe it or not, making your own shortbread cookies are so so simple. You take vegan butter and raw cane sugar (any granulated sugar should work here except for maybe coconut sugar), and beat them together until light and fluffy. Then you add some flour, mix, and you’re done. So simple right? And the resulting cookie is just like the shortbread cookies I remembered as a kid. Even though it’s 100% whole wheat! I have fallen completely head-over-heels for Bob’s Red Mill Organic Ivory Wheat Flour. It’s a 100% whole wheat flour made from whole grain white wheat berries, but it results in a light baked good. Imagine that: a whole wheat baked good that isn’t dry and crumbly. It’s a reality with this flour! Obsessed. Then the caramel! I posted a Vegan Pumpkin Spice Caramel Sauce to my site a few weeks ago, and that’s what I used here. It’s sweet, sticky, and so simple to make at home. You’re welcome to use your favorite vegan caramel sauce in its place, or you could even try making a date caramel if you want to keep it on the healthier side! And then each bite gets coated in a blanket of vegan dark chocolate. My favorite part! It’s rich and sweet and balances out all of the flavors so well. I hope you get a chance to make these cuties for Halloween this year! A whole grain treat that tastes like a classic candy bar? I’ll take that every dang day. :)

Vegan Twix® Cookie Bites

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes | Makes 9-10 cookie bites  

• ½ cup Vegan Butter
• ¼ cup Raw Cane Sugar (or your favorite granulated sugar)*
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Ivory Wheat Flour
• Splash Vanilla Extract
• 3 1/2 oz Vegan Dark Chocolate
• 1 tsp Coconut Oil
• Vegan Pumpkin Spice Caramel Sauce**

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Add parchment paper strips to the cups of a mini muffin tin so that you can easily pop out the cookies (see pictures). Beat vegan butter and raw cane sugar on medium speed in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides as necessary. Add your Ivory Wheat Flour and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. It’ll resemble wet sand. Measure 1 tablespoon dough and press it into your mini muffin tin. Continue until all of the cups are filled. Make an indent in each of the cookies with the back of a spoon or your thumb to fill with caramel--you want to press nearly all the way to the bottom. Bake for 33-35 minutes, or until slightly browned. Allow to cool completely (overnight in the fridge is best). Take your cookies out of the fridge and allow to warm up a bit, about 10 minutes. You should be able to pop them out of the mini muffin tin at this point. Place them on a cooling rack. Melt your chocolate and coconut oil in 30 second intervals in the microwave until melted. Mix in between each interval. Set aside. Fill each of your indents with caramel. I used a squeezy bottle, and it worked perfectly. A spoon works as well! Top with melted chocolate. Lightly tap the cookie against the cooling rack so that the chocolate evens out and drips down the sides. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. Notes: *Not sure if I’d go with coconut sugar here. I haven’t tried it, but I have a feeling that it’ll be a bit too grainy. Plus the color would be much darker. **You can use your favorite vegan caramel sauce here instead. Or you can try and make a date caramel! Shortbread recipe adapted from The Spruce. Alexa Peduzzi is the fruit & veggie-obsessed girl behind Fooduzzi, the plant-based and gluten free food blog. She’s a self-trained cook with a special weakness for cookies, peanut butter, and roasted broccoli. She currently works as the Community and Event Specialist at Food Blogger Pro, and she lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her boyfriend, Mark, and cat, Maya. Follow Fooduzzi for more plant-based and gluten free recipes!