14 Days Of Valentine's Day Treats Challenge Day One: Homemade Snickers Bars

Starting off my first actual blog post and my first day of my Valentine's Day Challenge I decided to try a recipe I found for homemade Snickers bars.

When I was in high school I was obsessed with Snickers. Nowadays though I'm not as into them as I once was because I actually am not that into chocolate or sweets in general anymore...although I can get down on some Snickers ice cream bars.
The reason I chose to do this recipe though was because I figured it would be a good one to try because mostly everyone knows what a Snickers tastes like so its a bit easier to compare and review how they taste.

(Sorry my photos are not great this post..but I had to take them by myself while trying to continuously stir & make actual dinner at the same time..I even forgot to take a few pics of a few of the layers..this being my first post though I think it will be okay..I can only improve from here.)

Here is the recipe that I followed. I actually didn't change any of the instructions other than I did use a bit more peanuts in my nougat layer.
Upon first seeing this recipe I worried I bit off more than I could chew..not because its a hard recipe but because there was a bunch of different layers..so I wasn't sure how time consuming the whole process would take. BUT this recipe was super easy. If you have no experience in the kitchen at all this won't be a hard treat for you to make. It also actually didn't take as long as I had stressed.

This recipe makes about a 9x13 pan..and then you can cut it up however you want.
I suggest using one of those foil paking pans..the 1/2 sheet cake sheet..because you can turn it over & pop these out before cutting them. Make sure to thoroughly grease your pan though first before starting.

Bottom Chocolate Layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter (I used creamy)

(the hot peanut butter is actually melting the chocolate chips on its own!)

Melt these ingredients together in a saucepan. (I melted these in the microwave for just under or about a minute. Even when the chocolate chips weren't melted completely..once I stirred the hot peanut butter it immediately melted the chips) Pour into pan and then spread out evenly. Let it get hard and cool completely. (I stuck mine in the freezer for a few minutes while I prepped the next layer)

Nougat Layer

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts finely chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract 

(I finely chopped up some peanuts..but then ended up deciding it needed more peanuts although I didn't even bother to cut those up.)

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved. Once dissolved bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes (I did 3 or so because our stove/oven cooks quickly) Stir occasionally. Add in fluff (I added a whole jar..the 7oz Kraft jars you get from the store..trying to measure of marshmallow fluff is disastrous and messy..so I used the whole thing..because who doesn't like marshmallowey goodness?!) peanut butter, and vanilla stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts. (At this point I grabbed the pan from the freezer & checked to make sure it had hardened) Pour over chocolate layer then let cool and harden. (I stuck in back into the freezer to prep the next layer.)

Caramel Layer
1 14oz bag of caramels(I actually only got a 10oz bag. You can make your own caramel if you want but this was pretty quick and easy other than the tedious task of unwrapping them. I used Kraft Original Caramels. They are small cubes and pretty easy to melt)
1/4 cup whipping cream (I'm sure most people know this..but this does not mean whipped cream..this is completely different. Its in the milk isle.)

Combine ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. (Again I just stuck them in the microwave. A little over a minute and it melted just fine.) Let melt, stirring until smooth. Pour over nougat layer and cool completely. (Same as before..stuck in in the freezer)

(I unfortunately have no photos of this process. About this time my Father in Law called & I was busy chatting away with him discussing our Super Bowl menu.)

Top Chocolate Layer
Just as the bottom layer in the beginning
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt ingredients. Then pour over caramel layer and spread smooth. Then let cool and hardened. 


Once I was done with all layers I popped it back into the freezer for about 10 minutes. I then cut out bars while it was still in the foil pan. I did take some out of the pan and arranged them (not very neatly) onto a serving tray for the Super Bowl shindig and then left a few in the pan itself for my boyfriend & I to try.

As I had said before..I am not a big fan of chocolate or sweets anymore..but my boyfriend says they tasted amazing. My main concern was that they taste like a Snickers. He confirmed that they do taste like a Snickers but better because they are creamier & gooier.
The small bite that I had was definitely good. The amount of product you get from a short simple recipe is definitely worth the work instead of just buying a regular Snickers at the store.

Here is what my turned out like

(YUM!)


So far only my boyfriend and I have tried these treats..but I will update on more reviews of it tonight when I present them at the Super Bowl party.

So all in all:

Taste Rating: 9
Easiness Rating: 7.5 
(although this recipe is very simple and easy..it does take some patience when it comes to doing each individual layer.)

This would be a great recipe to make a loved one or to make with the kids. I'm sure you could also take this and make a healthier version if needed..but I mean..why would you want to?!

Thanks to everyone for the support.
I promise these pictures and posts will improve.
Sorry for the late response on these posts..but with the super bowl I've been a bit hectic! 

xoxox
Treatbug