Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies
A decadent and super simple Twix Shortbread Cookie with gooey caramel and a milk chocolate drizzle. These Chocolate Caramel Shortbread cookies are the perfect gift for the Twix fan in your life and are easy enough to make with the kids.
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies Recipe
My two favorite chocolate bars are Snickers and Twix, and I realized that I have a ridiculous amount of Snickers-inspired dessert recipes on the blog (like our Homemade Snickers Bars, Snickers Cheesecake or Snickers Muddy Buddies) but I haven’t made a single Twix-inspired dessert… so that needed to change ASAP.
The first thing that popped into my mind was a Twix cookie. Since the cookie center in a Twix bar is a shortbread cookie, I used my foolproof, no-chill shortbread cookie recipe as the base of this recipe.
What you can expect from these homemade Twix cookies:
- Melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie base
- Oooey gooey caramel layer
- Decadent milk chocolate drizzle
- – and it’s ALL ready in less than an hour!
I’ve developed this recipe to be super straight-forward and easy but if you’re a little nervous about making shortbread, I’ve included 10 tips below to ensure you have the best shortbread baking experience possible.
While I cut my cookies into circles and just drizzle the chocolate overtop of the melted caramel layer, you can make these into rectangular cookies and completely cover them in the caramel and chocolate layers for an easy copycat Twix recipe. (I just thought this method of decorating them was cute-as-a-button!)
Almost every step of this recipe is easy to make with the kids but you’re going to want to handle the melted caramel yourself. It can get very hot and easily bubble over in the microwave, so it’s not something young chefs should be tasked with.
Tips for Perfect Shortbread
- Use good-quality butter and don’t substitute with margarine. You want a butter that you enjoy the flavour of because it will form the basis of most of the shortbread’s flavour.
- Use room temperature butter that has been sitting out for a few hours or overnight. Don’t use any hacks like grating or microwaving the butter as you will end up with an over-worked dough.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until very light colored, as you want the sugar to really dissolve well.
- If desired, you can replace a bit of the all-purpose flour with rice flour to give the cookies a lighter texture, but don’t go over replacing half of the flour or the dough will be frustratingly delicate.
- You can chill the dough twice, and it’s a good idea if you’ve spent too much time rolling out the dough or have been distracted. Note that I’ve developed this recipe to not need refrigeration, but refrigeration helps develop the flavour and is a good idea if you’re working in a hot or humid kitchen.
- If doing a second chill, it doesn’t need to be for long and you don’t need to cover the dough – in fact, leaving it uncovered for 20-30 minutes in your fridge will help dry out the butter a bit and help the cookies become a bit more light and crisp with baking.
- Ensure that all of the cookies are as close to the same size as possible to ensure even baking.
- When rolling out shortbread, try not to overwork the dough as it will result in tough cookies.
- Also, use a sheet of parchment or wax paper in between your rolling pin and your dough to prevent the dough from sticking or tearing with rolling.
- You don’t want any browning in the baked cookies – you just want them to be light and set. The minute one cookie starts to show some cracks, the cookies are done.
Can these shortbread cookies be frozen? Yes – that’s one of the best things about shortbread is that it freezes beautifully and the flavour even improves with freezing – and one of my secret indulgences is sneaking a frozen shortbread cookie out of the freezer and enjoying it super cold.
To store, use parchment or wax paper in between layers of the shortbread and store in an airtight freezer bag or your favourite freezer containers (this set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain).
For more classic Christmas cookie inspiration, check out our Classic Christmas Cookies ebook, where we have gathered 40 of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes – from Peanut Butter Buckeyes to Easy Shortbread, Cream Cheese Mints to Toffee Biscuits!
These cookies all share a few things in common:
- They are easy enough for the kids to help make
- They require no special ingredients requiring visits to 5 different grocery stores
- They are Christmas classics that everyone will be excited to see at the Cookie Exchange
- And they are delicious!
To make your holiday baking even easier, we’ve included several tips to ensure the best results so you can just focus on having fun with your kids and trust that these cookies will turn out perfectly, every time.
Grab your copy of our Classic Christmas Cookies ebook:
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Twix Shortbread Cookie Ingredients
- Butter, softened
- White Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Caramel Squares
- Milk, as needed
- Chocolate Chips
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt to take these cookies over the top.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Sheets
- Cooling racks <– I have and love these tiered cooling racks, they save so much counter space and are also oven-safe
- Small Microwave-safe Bowls
- Rolling Pin
How to Make Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, at least 2 minutes.
Beat in vanilla extract and then slowly beat in the flour until just incorporated.
Place the dough out on a clean, floured surface. Place a piece of parchment paper over the dough and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until 1/4″ thickness.
Use a round cookie cutter and cut out 40 cookies, re-rolling the dough as needed but try to avoid overworking the dough as much as possible.
Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets, about 1″ apart.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until just lightly golden – you don’t want them to brown at all.
Allow the cookies to cool as you prepare the caramel topping.
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of caramels and 2 Tablespoons milk and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and reheat as needed.
Portion out the caramel in 1 Tablespoon increments onto each cooled cookie.
(Repeat melting the caramels with milk as needed to top each cookie. I prefer to do this in small increments as the caramel tends to harden quickly.)
Once all shortbread cookies are topped with caramel, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and reheat as needed.
Drizzle the chocolate over the caramel-topped cookies.
Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving or storing.
Pin this easy Twix Cookie recipe for your next baking session:
Grab your free printable recipe card for our chocolate caramel shortbread cookie recipe:
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies
Melt-in-your-mouth Homemade Twix Cookies feature a buttery shortbread base, ooey gooey caramel and a decadent milk chocolate drizzle. This super simple cookie recipe is easy enough to make with the kids and enjoy in less than an hour!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Butter, softened
- 3/4 cup White Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 cups Caramel Squares
- 6 Tablespoons Milk, as needed
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, at least 2 minutes.
- Beat in vanilla extract and then slowly beat in the flour until just incorporated.
- Place the dough out on a clean, floured surface. Place a piece of parchment paper over the dough and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until 1/4" thickness.
- Use a round cookie cutter and cut out 40 cookies, re-rolling the dough as needed but try to avoid overworking the dough as much as possible.
- Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets, about 1" apart.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until just lightly golden - you don't want them to brown at all.
- Allow the cookies to cool as you prepare the caramel topping.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of caramels and 2 Tablespoons milk and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and reheat as needed.
- Portion out the caramel in 1 Tablespoon increments onto each cooled cookie.
- (Repeat melting the caramels with milk as needed to top each cookie. I prefer to do this in small increments as the caramel tends to harden quickly.)
- Once all shortbread cookies are topped with caramel, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and reheat as needed.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the caramel-topped cookies.
- Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving or storing.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
40Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 2g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your family loves this super simple Twix Shortbread Cookie recipe as much as mine does!
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