Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Caramel Candy Bars (Homemade Take 5 Bars)
It doesn’t get much better than a homemade candy bar! Homemade Take 5 bars with layers of milk chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, caramel and peanuts are insane, out of control, and maybe one of the best things ever.
I rarely let myself have candy. With all of the homemade treats coming out of my kitchen, I just don’t have the calories to spare. I could say that I’m above candy, that I don’t like it, or that I’d rather have something sweet I baked myself, but that wouldn’t be completely true. My sweet tooth is nondiscriminatory.
So when a bowl of candy got passed around during card games with my family during our vacation a few weeks ago, you better believe I pigged out had some. And halfway through a snack size Take 5 bar I thought this is so good, followed shortly by but I could make a homemade version that would be even better.
And so I did.
You see, ever since I discovered how easy it is to make homemade snickers, I’ve been doomed. It’s a way around my “no candy” policy and my hips are not happy with me. But homemade candy bars are surprisingly easy to make (though they do take a bit of time and dirty a few dishes) and the end result is way better than what you can buy. Totally worth the little extra jiggle, in my opinion.
With their 5 layers of awesomeness— peanut butter, pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate— these homemade candy bars have a sweet and salty thing going on that is incredibly addicting. I’ll just warn you now, you’re going to want to eat the entire pan, so make sure you have friends and family nearby to help.
Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Caramel and Pretzel Candy Bars
Ingredients
Bottom Chocolate Layer:
- 1 ¼ cup milk chocolate chips (255 grams)
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter (70 grams)
Peanut Butter & Pretzel Layers:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (113 grams)
- 1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter (240 grams)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (500 grams)
- 2 cups mini pretzels (65 grams)
Caramel & Peanut Layers:
- 14 oz bag caramels , unwrapped (400 grams)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (60 ml)
- 1 cup salted peanuts (140 grams)
Top Chocolate Layer:
- 1 ¼ cup milk chocolate chips (255 grams)
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter (70 grams)
Instructions
- To make the bottom layer, set a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt the milk chocolate and peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and spread into a 9x13-inch pan lined with parchment paper or greased foil. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
- To make the peanut butter layer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread over the bottom chocolate layer. Cover with the pretzels.
- To make the caramel layer, place the caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan and set over medium low heat. Heat until caramels melt and mixture is smooth, stirring frequently. Immediately spread on top of the pretzels, then top with the peanuts. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- To make the top chocolate layer, set a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt the milk chocolate and peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Pour on top of the bars and return to the fridge for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Bars will become soft if left at room temperature, store in the fridge.
These look absolutely incredible!! I’m not even sure I can picture what a Take 5 bar is… But I know these are better!!
I am DYING to see this!! Love all that gooey filling!
OMG…These bars look absolutely crazy good ,yikes ! I have found a wonderful peanut butter powder called ” PB2 ” one just adds water to make a paste . It has 85% less calories than regular peanut butter . I’ll first try your recipe then try it with PB2 . I really don’t eat a lot of sweets but you totally got me with your beautiful photos . Have you tried freezing them ?
These look incredible! Love the gooey caramel!
Whoa. Each individual layer is just, guh. Chocolate and peanut butter melted together could be my death row final meal.
I had to completely and ruthlessly ban myself from the candy drawer at work about ten years ago because I kept finding myself rummaging around in there seven or eight times a day. I WISH I was above candy. It feels lowbrow but is, in fact, sublime.
I’m going to keep this recipe in reserve for some weekend when I really want to give myself a pass.
Glad to hear I’m not the only adult in love with candy. A candy drawer would probably kill me!
Close but not quite. Take 5 had the square grid pretzels. Covers more surface area. Try making your own caramel sauce too. It’s not that difficult and it wont harden up as much in the fridge. Also, try using baking mold trays. They have square and rectangle molds and that way you can cover the sides in chocolate too. Still, excellent starting point.
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I agree that the square pretzels would work better, but I have a hard time finding them. Also, using store-bought caramels and a large baking dish instead of individual ones is to make this recipe as simple as possible while still tasting great.
I made individual ones a while back and it is so.much.work. and coating the whole thing in chocolate messed up the ratio (if i thinned the choc out enough to get a thin layer on the outside of the candy, it didn’t solidify enough to eat them w/o being a mess). these bars look like a perfect combo. i’m going to try this with square pretzels!
Just made it this evening and I’m looking forward to tasting the finished product. I believe there is an error in the recipe that is really important to point out… it calls for 500 grams of confectioners’ sugar and that completely ruined that portion. It was way too much. I had to re-do it using two cups instead and that was much better. Everything else seemed on-point!
I looooooove Take-5 bars and can’t find them in Canada. I bought a stash in Houston at Christmas but somehow they aren’t lasting as long as they should *ehem*. I’m so glad I thought to google for a recipe! Yours looks like what I wanted exactly & I can’t wait to try it. I may need to up my workout length and/or buy bigger pants, but worth it.
Probably one of the BEST desserts I have ever made. The key is to use quality ingredients. I’ve made them twice in the last week and shared them with many. Everyone is still talking about them. They are addicting! 🙂
Made these last night. Super easy and delicious! Didn’t have milk chocolate so I subbed semi sweet. Tastes really close to a Take 5!! Will make again!
Would have been perfect but the grams of powdered sugar is inaccurate to the measuring cup amount, 2 cups is ~240 g. I normally go by grams so when I made this I had to do a whole bunch of correcting on the peanut butter layer because it was too dry and I ended up with a lot extra. Guess I’ll just have to make homemade Reese’s soon. Please double check the gram amounts!