I’m sorry. Did you just see the Twix Bar Tart. Can we just have a moment to let it sink in. Yum. Okay so where do I even start you guys?! Paleo f(x) was AMAZING, absolutely AMAZING. Austin is such a cool city. Tons of cool places to eat good food and drink craft cocktails and Austin has such cool nightlife. It’s like if you mixed the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego and Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Then it’s kinda ugly and dingy during the day like how Vegas is. It’s awesome.
My favorite places in Austin were as follows: Picnik Austin where they serve Paleo coffee, snacks, and treats. Naomi is the BEST, she will seriously make your day. I got the Mocha one day and the Chai the next and they were both to die for. Then my favorite restaurant we ate at was the Salty Sow. Oh my gosh you guys. It was incredible! We ordered pretty much everything on the menu, Bacon and Gruyere Roasted Bone Marrow, Crispy Brussels Sprouts Leaves, Truffled Deviled Eggs, Duck Fat Fries with 110 Minute Egg, and for my main course I got a Bacon Wrapped Pork Filet Mignon. For dessert we had a Salted Caramel Pudding with Candied Bacon on top. My mouth is watering just typing all that.
I also got to do a cooking demo with Juli from PaleOMG. We totally rocked it. I was so nervous and my pits were crazy sweaty but we did it! Juli’s a pro, this was my first cooking demo and I had so much fun! We were cracking jokes and rockin’ the mic. Speaking of mics, do you know how hard it is to cook with one hand while holding a microphone? Yeah…My Favorite part of the whole day was right before the cooking demo started I got to say hi to Nom Nom, or Michelle, for those of you who don’t call people by their blog names. She gave me a big hug and then yelled, “Where’s my f#@$ing dessert?!” Bwahahahaha I love her. Note to self, bring Nom Nom dessert so she doesn’t yell at you. Bloggers be crazy.
Speaking of bloggers, I stayed in a killer house Downtown with Juli of PaleOMG, Bill and Haley Staley of Primal Palate and their assistant Kara, Sean and Suzanne of Pastured Kitchen, and the one and only Stacy LaLa. It was the BEST! Total Paleo Real World. Lot’s of laughs and good bacon. In addition to blogging, Bill is also an exceptional back farter. Yes, you just read what you think you read.
Austin also sells cool stuff that California doesn’t like Kosmic Kombucha (Groovy Green is the BEST!) and TopoChico Mineral Water. I know what you’re thinking, it’s mineral water, how can it be that good. I don’t know people, maybe they put crack in it or something but it’s SO good! It’s like crazy refreshing. I want to buy it on Amazon but it’s like 3 times as much as it is in Austin at Whole Foods. Oh oh Whole Foods, I got to visit the mothership Whole Foods too. It was insane! People have proms and stuff there even. Cray.
Speaking of cray, dude, so I went to go wait in the Franklin’s BBQ line on Saturday at 8:30 am. Stacy La La was going to meet me there, since she’s my foodie partner in crime. When I got there the line was already around the block and past the fence, so I wouldn’t have been able to drink because it would be considered public property. Then they came around and told us that we probably wouldn’t be able to eat before they ran out of meat and if by some chance we were able to eat it wouldn’t be until 2:30 pm. So maybe next year? I did eat Texas BBQ while I was there since I couldn’t have Franklin’s but it was just meh. You know what’s not just meh…these Paleo Twix Bar Tarts.
Twix Bar Tarts
*Makes 4 mini tarts
Shortbread Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups cashew butter (see recipe below)
1/2 cup grass-fed butter, melted
1 organic free-range egg
1/4 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Make cashew butter using recipe below.
2. Put the grass-fed butter in a microwave safe dish and microwave until melted, about 30-60 seconds. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. When most of it has melted, stir to melt any remaining butter.
3. In a medium sized bowl add the melted butter, egg, honey, and vanilla. Make sure the butter isn’t too hot so it doesn’t cook the egg. Mix the ingredients together using a whisk or hand mixer. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl add the cashew butter, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour the melted butter mixture on top and stir the ingredients together with a whisk or spoon until completely combined. Refrigerate uncovered for 20 minutes or until dough firms up.
5. Take a handful of dough and press evenly into a round mini tart pan
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden. Let cool. If the dough puffs up higher than you would like, let cool for 5 minutes and then you can re-press the crust into shape. Set aside and make your caramel filling.
Cashew Butter
Ingredients:
3 cups raw cashews
2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
few pinches of sea salt
Directions:
1. In a food processor add your cashews and puree for a few minutes or so depending on how awesome your food processor is. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. Once you start to get an almost dough like consistency, slowly add the coconut oil and then a little bit of salt and puree some more. For this recipe it doesn’t have to be as finely textured as store bought nut butter, you actually want it to be more dough like.
Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
1/2 cup grass-fed butter (or ghee)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk, full fat, room temperature
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
few pinches of sea salt
Directions:
1. Melt butter and coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Once melted add the coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until combined.
3. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Let boil for 3 minutes, remove and stir until the mixture becomes a smooth liquid again. Repeat this process 3-4 times. Each time the mixture should get a little thicker and a little thicker. Remove from heat and let cool. As the mixture cools it will thicken.
4. Go ahead and start your chocolate topping while the caramel cools.
Chocolate Topping
Ingredients:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate chips using the double boiler method by placing a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water and stirring until the chocolate is melted.
2. To assemble your Twix Tarts, take one of the crusts, still in the mini tart pan, and use a spoon to transfer caramel into it, close to the top. Then place in the fridge. Repeat the process for the remaining 3. When finished let them chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Transfer the melted chocolate into a piping bag, or Ziploc freezer bag with the corner cut. Remove the caramel filled mini tart pans from the fridge, then squeeze the chocolate out on top of the caramel. Use a rubber spatula to spread the chocolate across the caramel. Return to the fridge to harden for at least 20 minutes. Once they are ready, pop them out of the tart pans and cut into slices. Enjoy!
Notes:
There is enough dough to make this recipe in a standard sized tart pan
I recommended covering your baking sheet with parchment paper just as a precaution, if anything spills over, it’s easy clean up. If you don’t have parchment paper, no biggie just use the baking sheet, you’ll be fine. Also my crust ended up being a little too thick, but I included a picture for your reference anyway. It got a little puffy but I let it cool for 5 minutes and then pressed and shaped it how I wanted it. It totally worked fine, but try to go thinner than what I did.
So let’s recap here guys, Austin was rad, always bring Nom Nom dessert, long lines suck, but Paleo Twix Bar Tarts don’t. Oh and wear extra deodorant when doing cooking demos so you don’t pit out. Aren’t you glad you read this blog? All of life’s answers people.
28 Comments on Twix Bar Tarts
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My Life of Spice
April 21, 2014 at 11:02 am (10 years ago)That pie looks so good!
Vanessa Barajas
April 21, 2014 at 11:53 am (10 years ago)My co-workers are currently fighting over the last of it! 😀 It’s seriously so yummy!
This Sydney Life
April 21, 2014 at 2:52 pm (10 years ago)V – welcome home. Missed ya’! And, your twix bar tart looks divine. Truly. All your lovely sweets look divine. All the time. But I’m back on Bacon and Gruyere Roasted Bone Marrow… SERIOUSLY? I want some. For breakfast (it’s morning here)…
Vanessa Barajas
April 22, 2014 at 9:13 am (10 years ago)Missed you too TSL! It feels like it’s been a life time! Austin was so fun and the food was SO good! I can’t wait to go back! You should come next year 🙂
heth728
April 21, 2014 at 8:49 pm (10 years ago)Totes making this!
Modern With A Vintage Feel
April 22, 2014 at 7:46 am (10 years ago)I literally have all of those ingredients – looks amazing!
Michele @ PaleoRunningMomma
April 28, 2014 at 12:52 pm (10 years ago)looks so delish! and ingredients look so simple and yummy! thanks!
Vanessa Barajas
April 28, 2014 at 3:03 pm (10 years ago)You’re so very welcome! It is actually a really simple recipe, the most labor intensive thing is just pressing the dough into the tart pans. I hope you are able to make it and enjoy it! 🙂
erin
May 8, 2014 at 7:57 am (10 years ago)How did I just find your blog?! Well I did, and I think I love you. In a non-blogger-stalkerish kind of way. I believe your whole blog is basically what the whole30 folk like to call “sex with your pants on” and I am totally okay with it! I’m with Nom Nom – BRING ON THE DESSERT!
Vanessa Barajas
May 8, 2014 at 9:01 am (10 years ago)HA! Hey sex with your pants on is still hot! And in some cases probably better than the real thing if you’re making out with some rando on a drunken party night. Not that I know anything about these things…at all. I’m so happy you found me and are pro paleo dessert! Welcome! I hope to have more sexy treats (as in food) for you in the future! 😉
Erin C
July 1, 2014 at 9:13 am (9 years ago)I’ve been recreating this amazing ice cream pie (originally found at the neighborhood ice cream shop and accidentally devoured in all of its poisonous goodness in one night by three people…) in a gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, gut wrecking-free way and this crust will be perfect for the next one! I’m probably going to use some elements from the Twix-Type-Tart too to make it even more spectacular….Thanks!!!
Amina
September 5, 2014 at 4:02 am (9 years ago)Can you please open a paleo dessert bar in australia so I can always go!!
Vanessa Barajas
September 5, 2014 at 9:21 am (9 years ago)Haha I would love to! Or maybe I just visit and bring treats to all my readers down under? 😉
Amina
September 7, 2014 at 8:01 am (9 years ago)OMGG THAT WOULD BE AMAZINGGGG!!! All your desserts look so delicious. Honestly, I love your blog. You go girl!
Sofi
February 12, 2015 at 2:36 pm (9 years ago)I was wondering if you have tried freezing them? I want to make it for V-day but know I won’t be able to eat it all! Plus, I want to have one or two on hand when a craving hits. 🙂
Vanessa Barajas
February 12, 2015 at 10:35 pm (9 years ago)I haven’t tried freezing them, but I’m sure they’d be just fine. 🙂
Sofia
February 13, 2015 at 9:20 am (9 years ago)Awesome! Thank you Vanessa. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Lily
November 15, 2016 at 4:44 pm (7 years ago)I just want to say that this is the most fu(&ing amazing recipe!!!! I’ve made it twice, once using all ghee once using all butter. The ghee version is better and lighter I think, butter with its proteins makes it denser. Either way it’s just soooo good. Both times however, I also subbed 2/3 of the coconut sugar in the caramel filling for date paste, and used 2/3 date paste (i.e. some water, majool dates and vanilla extract) and 1/3 cup coconut sugar instead. It was super caramelly (if thats a word lol) and fantastic. I also used enjoy life chocolate chips melted for the chocolate instead of dark chocolate. Insane combination. I love this dessert.
I have a question though. I’d like to use the crust for my pecan pie. I think it would be epic since this is such a great crust. My question is if I make the crust, should I not bake it first and just pour the pecan pie filling on top and bake them together? Or should I pre-bake the crust a little? Not sure what to do and I don’t want to botch my favorite dessert, pecan pie, with this tart rivaling in a close second 🙂
Thanks for such a fantastic recipe!
Lily
November 15, 2016 at 4:46 pm (7 years ago)And to answer Sofi’s question, a little late, yes they do freeze fantastically. And can be eaten right out to the freezer. Its like eating a snickers vs a frozen snickers. No sure if I am the only one who likes that 😛
Vanessa Barajas
November 20, 2016 at 3:59 pm (7 years ago)Oh great tip! Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂
Vanessa Barajas
November 20, 2016 at 4:02 pm (7 years ago)I’m SO happy to hear you love this recipe! I’m happy to hear it came out just as great with your subs, that’s awesome! To answer your pie crust question, I would probably parbake (pre-bake) the crust for maybe 5-7 min. then I would fill with the pecan pie filling, use a crust shield or foil around the edges and then bake the pie. I actually also might chill the crust in the freezer for like 20 min or so before parbaking so it doesn’t bake all the way through and then let it do so when it’s baking with the pecan filling. Let me know how it goes! 🙂 Happy baking!
Lily
December 7, 2016 at 7:58 pm (7 years ago)Wanted to come back and tell you it was F*%#king amazing. Sorry had to censor myself for the kids ya know. This crust + pecan pie filling = heave on earth. Oh and you want to know what made it officially out of this world. A quart of your salted caramel ice cream from your cookbook. I made a batch and it was so good I devoured the whole thing before Thanksgiving lol. Had to run out the night before Thanksgiving to buy more cream/milk to make another batch. But the ice cream pairs PERFECTLY with pecan pie, which went perfectly with the crust from this recipe. But this recipe here is literally one of my absolute favorites!!!!
Vanessa Barajas
December 16, 2016 at 4:32 pm (7 years ago)Yay! SO happy to hear this! I’m even more happy to hear that you made the Salted Caramel Ice Cream!!! It’s MY FAVORITE!!! It’s SO good! I feel like I want everyone to make it and they just don’t understand. Haha! I’m like, no seriously, everyone needs to make this ice cream!
Sally Blowers
September 6, 2018 at 10:28 am (5 years ago)Hi Vanessa, I have a question that is not related to any one recipe. I can only use duck eggs. Since they are larger than chicken eggs, but contain more fat, can I substitute them 1:1 or do I need to make other adjustments as well? Thank you.
Vanessa Barajas
September 6, 2018 at 10:42 am (5 years ago)Hi Sally, hmm that’s a great question. I’m not really familiar with duck eggs, in fact now that I think about it, I don’t even know where I would get duck eggs! Haha. I did some sleuthing and here is some info I found…
“Duck eggs make baked items fluffier than chicken eggs. You substitute one duck egg per chicken egg in the recipe, even though the duck eggs are bigger. Due to the higher yolk ratio to egg white in duck eggs they contain more fat which in turn makes Baked goods richer.” Please let me know how it goes as I’m very intrigued! 🙂