It will be debated until the end of time, but if you ask me, Twix is firmly in the top 3 candy bars of all time.
So you know I had to turn that beloved candy bar into a high-protein treat.
I initially attempted to make my own Twix bars, but that proved difficult. But since Twix bars are essentially cookies, why not bake them up into actual cookies?
Now, this idea is not brand new. If you do a search for “Twix Cookies” you’re going to see a ton of results… but I bet you’ve never seen a protein-packed version!
These cookies have only 115 calories and pack in 6g of protein. While they may not contain the most protein as far as protein cookies are concerned, a Twix bar (one stick) contains 125 calories and only 1g of protein, so this is definitely a step up.
We’re going to whip up a delicious shortbread cookie, some homemade protein caramel, and top ’em off with chocolate.
Let’s get into it.
How to make Healthy Twix Cookies
To get us started, we’re going to make my one-minute protein caramel sauce. This recipe is insanely easy to throw together and SO versatile.
All you need to do is combine butter, brown sugar, and syrup in a bowl. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of syrup, but we’re only going to use one here to make the caramel a bit thicker.
Microwave the mixture until melted, whisk in one scoop of protein powder, and then you’re done!
This won’t be quite the same chewy caramel you’d expect to find in a Twix bar, but for something high in protein, it definitely gets the job done.
Once the caramel sauce is ready to go, we’ll set it aside to allow it to cool and thicken up while we make the shortbread cookies.
To make the Twix cookie dough, all you need to do is mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until it becomes a large dough ball.
Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper, cover it with another sheet of parchment paper, then flatten it out.
I just use my hands to flatten the dough because honestly, I’m a bit lazy. If you want to use a rolling pin, that would work great!
These cookies will not rise very much, so flatten the dough out as thin as you’d like your cookies to be.
Now all that’s left to do is cut out the cookies. I don’t own a cookie cutter, so I just use the cap to a bottle of sprinkles and it works great! Just press down and twist to cut the cookies out.
Cut out as many cookies as you can, then reshape the scraps and cut out more cookies until there is no Twix cookie dough left.
I was able to get exactly 15 cookies out of my dough.
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Here’s where we need to be patient: allow the cookies to set for one hour.
If you prefer soft cookies, you can just let the cookies cool for 10 minutes or so and then dig in. But to make these taste like authentic Twix cookies, we want a little bit of a crisp to them, so the full hour allows the cookies to harden up a bit.
The cookies won’t be completely crunchy, but they’ll have a slight crisp similar to my Protein Oreo Cookies.
Assembling the Twix Cookies
Once the shortbread cookies have cooled, it’s time to assemble!
Add a small spoonful of the caramel sauce (it should have thickened up quite a bit) to the center of the cookies.
Start with a small amount on each cookie to make sure you have enough for the entire batch, then you can always add more if you have any caramel sauce left over.
Now, melt down your chocolate. I used melting chocolate which I HIGHLY recommend. I always use regular chocolate chips, but it never hardens quite the way you want it to. Melting chocolate is made specifically to not require any “tempering,” so you can just melt it down in the microwave and have it be ready to go.
Add a small spoonful of the melted chocolate over the cookies. You will only need a small amount because it will spread out very easily…
Use the back of the spoon to spread the chocolate out over the top of the cookie.
If you are using melted chocolate chips, it may be a bit thicker and thus require more chocolate over the top. Yet another reason why I recommend melting chocolate: a little goes a very long way!
Add the cookies to the fridge for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden, then these Twix cookies are ready to serve!
You can keep these on the counter and the chocolate will remain solid, but I prefer storing these in the fridge. I haven’t tried freezing these cookies, but I think the caramel sauce we made would freeze very hard.
That’s all there is to it!
If you give these a try, please share them with me on Instagram. I always love seeing your recreations!
Ingredients
Cookie Layer
Caramel Layer
Chocolate Layer
Instructions
- Make your protein caramel sauce by mixing the butter, brown sugar, and syrup in a microwave-safe bowl until combined. Microwave for 60 seconds, stopping halfway to give a quick stir.
- Add one scoop of protein powder to the microwaved mixture and whisk it in until smooth. Transfer to a sealable jar (or you can cover the bowl) and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the cookie dough by combining all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then adding in the vanilla extract & butter. Mix together until you have a crumbly mixture, then work it with your hands until it comes together as a dough ball.
- Transfer the cookie dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and roll it out/flatten it. I like to lay another sheet of parchment paper on top and just use my hands to flatten it out thin. These cookies will only rise a tiny bit, so flatten the dough out as thin as you would like your cookies.
- Using a cookie cutter or cap (I used the cap to a bottle of sprinkles) cut out as many cookies as possible, then reshape the scraps and flatten it out to cut out more cookies. Continue until you have no dough left. For me, this made 15 cookies.
- Add to a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and allow them to sit out for 1 hour to fully cool and harden.
- Once the cookies have set, add a small spoonful of the caramel sauce into the center of each cookie.
- Melt your chocolate in the microwave, then spoon it on top of the caramel to cover. I used a small amount of chocolate and then used the back of the spoon to spread it around on top of the cookie- see the photos above for reference. If you want to completely cover the cookies, you’ll need to melt more chocolate.
- Add to the fridge until the chocolate hardens, which should only take about 10 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
- If you want to save a little effort and/or make these more like an authentic Twix bar, you can melt down caramels and use that as your caramel layer instead
- You can use any protein powder flavor you’d like for the caramel sauce, and I’ve had success with plain vanilla.
- The Twix cookies will keep at room temperature, but I prefer to store mine in the fridge.
- These cookies have a slight crunch to them but aren’t extremely crunchy, which is the way I prefer them. If you find them too soft, you can bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- I do not count the sugar substitute in my carb totals, so if you want to have a strict carb count, be sure to calculate the nutrition with your own ingredients.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information
Yield 15
Serving Size 1 Twix Cookie
Amount Per Serving
Calories 115Total Fat 7gCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 6g
