Description

These Vanilla Caramel Peanut Bars combine a crisp vanilla sablé base, a luscious passion fruit infused salted caramel layer, and crunchy salted peanuts, all coated in a tempered dark chocolate with fruity and bitter notes. A delightful blend reminiscent of Snickers and Twix bars, perfect for those who love the balance of sweet, salty, and rich chocolate flavors.

Ingredients

Scale

Sablé Dough

105g butter
90g sugar
40g egg yolk (about 2 yolks)
2g salt
145g flour
7g baking powder
2g lemon zest

Vanilla Salted Caramel

150g cream (35% fat)
98g sugar
100g glucose syrup
15g invert sugar (trimoline)
45g passion fruit purée (e.g., Boiron)
4.5g butter
2.5g cocoa butter
2g fleur de sel (sea salt)
1 vanilla bean, scraped
100g salted peanuts

Chocolate Coating

300g Sambirano 68% dark chocolate couverture (Felchlin), tempered

Instructions

Prepare Sablé Dough: Mix butter, sugar, lemon zest, and salt using a paddle attachment until smooth but not fluffy. Gradually add egg yolks, mixing well. Incorporate flour and baking powder until the dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight for best results.
Roll and Bake Base: Let dough soften for 10 minutes before rolling out to approximately 3mm thickness. Press into a 16x16cm square baking mold and bake at 170°C (340°F) for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool completely.
Make Vanilla Salted Caramel: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine cream, sugar, glucose syrup, and invert sugar. Cook carefully until mixture reaches 112°C (234°F), avoiding burning. Stir in passion fruit purée and vanilla bean scrapings, then continue heating until temperature reaches 131°C (268°F). Remove from heat and stir in butter, cocoa butter, and fleur de sel until smooth.
Assemble Caramel Layer: Immediately pour hot caramel over cooled sablé base in the mold. While caramel is still warm, sprinkle salted peanuts over and gently press them into the caramel layer. Allow to cool completely to set.
Temper Chocolate and Coat Bars: Temper the Sambirano 68% dark chocolate following standard tempering techniques. Once the caramel layer is fully set, cut the slab into bars approximately 10×2.5cm each. Dip each bar into the tempered chocolate to coat evenly, then allow chocolate to set at room temperature or in a cool place.

Notes

Temper the chocolate carefully to get a glossy, crisp finish and prevent blooming.
You can substitute dark chocolate for milk chocolate, but expect the bars to be sweeter.
The passion fruit purée adds bright fruity notes balancing the caramel’s sweetness and saltiness.
Resting the dough overnight in the fridge improves texture and handling.
Be cautious when working with hot caramel as it can cause burns.
The bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 2-12 hours chilling time)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Dessert Bars
Method: Baking
Cuisine: French-inspired

Keywords: vanilla caramel bars, peanut bars, salted caramel dessert, chocolate coated bars, homemade candy bars, passion fruit caramel, sablé base