Snickers Bars made from scratch with creamy caramel, easy nougat, peanuts and chocolate. Make a whole pan of your favorite candy bar to share!
How to make Snickers Bars
Line a 9×13 pan (or quarter baking sheet like I used) with parchment paper. Make space in your freezer for the pan. You will be putting it in the freezer and pulling it back out several times.
First you make the bottom chocolate layer, then the nougat layer, then the caramel layer, then the top chocolate layer.
You can have several steps going on at once. I get my chocolate chips + peanut butter together in a bowl, ready to be melted and spread onto the bottom of the pan. I’ve also got my caramel bits + milk in a bowl, ready to be melted, as well as my butter + sugar + milk in a saucepan ready to be placed on the stove. Spray the 1/4 cup measuring cup with cooking spray so that your peanut butter comes out easily each time.
How to make the bottom layer
Melt 1 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup peanut butter in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir until smooth, then spread on the bottom of the pan. Put pan in freezer.
How to make the nougat layer
Put butter, sugar and 1/4 cup evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Begin heating on medium heat, stirring occasionally as the butter melts and the mixture combines. Measure out 1/4 cup peanut butter and set aside. Continue heating mixture. When it comes to a boil, set timer for 6 minutes.
After 6 minutes, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter, the marshmallow cream and the vanilla. Stir until smooth. This is where it starts to even smell like a Snickers Bar! Take pan out of freezer and pour nougat on top of chilled chocolate. Smooth over chocolate until layer is even. Return to freezer.
How to make the caramel layer
Melt caramels + 1/4 cup evaporated milk in the microwave for 1 minute, adding 30 second increments as needed until caramels melt and mixture is combined.
Take pan out of freezer. Measure out 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts and pour evenly over the top. Use clean hands to gently press peanuts into nougat. Pour caramel mixture over the top of the peanuts. Return pan to freezer.
How to make the top layer
Melt 1 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup peanut butter in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir until smooth, then spread on top of the caramel, until even.
Return pan to freezer for about 20 minutes. Cut into squares while bars are still cold. (this makes cutting nice and even!)
Bars need to be stored in the fridge, but will still maintain their shape even when left out for a couple hours. They do get soft though, which is why I prefer to store them in the fridge.
What are Snickers made of?
- 2 cups chocolate chips (divided into two 1 cup portions)
- 3/4 cup peanut butter (divided into three 1/4 cup portions)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or heavy whipping cream (divided into two 1/4 cup portions)
- 7 oz tub marshmallow cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
- 1 bag caramels (11 oz)
HOMEMADE SNICKERS BARS
Ingredients
- 2 cups chocolate chips divided into two 1 cup portions
- 3/4 cup peanut butter divided into three 1/4 cup portions
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or heavy whipping cream divided into two 1/4 cup portions
- 7 oz tub marshmallow cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
- 1 bag caramels 11 oz
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 pan (or quarter baking sheet like I used) with parchment paper. Make space in your freezer for the pan. You will be putting it in the freezer and pulling it back out several times.
Bottom Layer of Chocolate:
- Melt 1 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup peanut butter in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir until smooth, then spread on the bottom of the pan. Put pan in freezer.
Nougat Layer:
- Put butter, sugar and 1/4 cup evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Begin heating on medium heat, stirring occasionally as the butter melts and the mixture combines. Measure out 1/4 cup peanut butter and set aside. Continue heating mixture. When it comes to a boil, set timer for 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter, the marshmallow cream and the vanilla. Stir until smooth. Take pan out of freezer and pour nougat on top of chilled chocolate. Smooth over chocolate until layer is even. Return to freezer.
Caramel Layer:
- Melt caramels + 1/4 cup evaporated milk in the microwave for 1 minute, adding 30 second increments as needed until caramels melt and mixture is combined.
Peanut Layer:
- Take pan out of freezer. Measure out 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts and pour evenly over the top. Use clean hands to gently press peanuts into nougat. Pour caramel mixture over the top of the peanuts. Return pan to freezer.
Top Chocolate Layer:
- Melt 1 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup peanut butter in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir until smooth, then spread on top of the caramel, until even.
- Return pan to freezer for about 10 minutes. Cut into squares while bars are still cold. (this makes cutting nice and even!)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Love Dessert Bars? Want more candy recipes? All about chocolate? So are these recipes!
— The Best Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
What’s the best chocolate to use for making candy?
Use the absolute BEST chocolate you have access to! Especially for this recipe where there are only 3 ingredients, each one really counts. I used semi sweet chocolate chips for this recipe. I’ve also used Ghirardelli chocolate chips, but they’re harder to find.
What kind of peanut butter to use in homemade Snickers Bars?
Really any type of peanut butter, even the more natural varieties will work just fine in this recipe.
The easiest way to measure out peanut butter in a recipe is with a measuring cup like this one. You can measure the peanut butter and push it out so easily without trying to scrape it all out of a regular measuring cup! These measuring cups work so well for peanut butter, honey, shortening…I use mine all the time!
What type of caramel is best for baking?
I prefer to buy either unwrapped caramel bits OR the caramel pieces in a bag that are specifically for baking, because the outer wrapper comes off really easily. Those small square caramels in the clear plastic wrapper are such a pain to unwrap! You can find the baking caramels on end caps, on the baking aisle or often in the produce section by the apples.
How to melt chocolate chips
I prefer to melt chocolate chips in the microwave because it is so fast and easy. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish (I like to use a glass Pyrex measuring cup) and then microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir the chocolate chips around and then return to the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir again.
Even if the chocolate chips aren’t completely melted, just keep stirring and see if they will melt all the way. If they still aren’t melted, microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again. You just want to be careful not to microwave the chocolate chips too long because then the chocolate will seize and be unusable.
You can also melt the chocolate chips over the stove in a saucepan. Just turn the heat to low and stir the chocolate chips just until melted.
Homemade Snickers Bars recipe makes you love your favorite candy bar even more. These chocolate peanut butter bars are surprisingly easy to make and melt in your mouth tasty!
Anna Throop says
I made these several weeks ago for church and they were a HUGE hit! It was decided that they are definitely better than store bought. I used my 9×13 pan and it work great!
Jan Ramsey says
I make this regularly. The addition of the peanut butter to the chocolate and nougat are the secret to this bats success! Gourmet Snickers ✌🏽
Brenda says
Made this for someone’s birthday treat.
The directions were very helpful and easy to follow.
They came out pretty darn good….. hoping they ship well. (Put freezies in with them).
Did save a few for myself 😉😉
Will def keep this recipe and share
Ashley Godfrey says
Do these freeze well, after the fact?
Jessica says
These freeze BEAUTIFULLY!! My mother in law keeps a batch in her freezer, all cut up into small squares, then just pulls them out when she needs a quick dessert!
Jane says
Hi, I was noticing that some of the pictures have very clean sides where the nougat is so smooth and has a really tidy cut, and then some it’s a little more rough looking. I’m sure they taste absolutely amazing, but just wondering what you think made the difference in the look. Was the one with the sharper/cleaner sides colder? I’d like to make these for a party and would love to have the cleaner-looking sides if possible 🙂 Thank you so much!!!
Nicole says
Cutting the bars while they are still cold, while using a large hot chef knife works great at getting fine straight edges. You can hold a knife over a hot stove burner, heat it with a lighter, or run it under hot water to warm it up, but the hot blade passes through the chocolate and nugget with ease.
Aimee says
I love the idea of making these and I have all of the ingredients ready to go. My only complaint is that candy making recipes should really go by temperature rather than time. I’m really only grumpy because I have a stupid induction burner and wish I had gas. The induction burner cycles through on and off cycles instead of offering steady even heat. Can us unfortunate souls working with induction please get a temperature?
Donnette says
Way too sweet and mushy. It has to stay frozen to keep shape. The cup of sugar in the nougat is unnecessary. I spent $20 on the ingredients and threw the whole gooey mess in the trash because even if it wasn’t a gooey disaster it was so over the top sweet no one in my house could eat it.
Jessica says
It sounds like something didn’t go quite right…
Sarah says
Is there a way to make these WITHOUT peanut butter? Original snickers just has peanuts, not peanut butter. Unusual as I might be, my sensitive taste buds have never liked the taste of peanut butter and chocolate together and I can always taste it. I hade these when I was a kid, and LOVED them, but I can’t find a recipe that doesn’t have peanut butter. I’ve tried searching for it without, but then I just get recipes without the peanuts also…
Jessica says
What about using a different type of nut butter?
Erica Psaltis says
My nougat ended up really chewy – not fluffy like a snickers bar – is it supposed to be chewy? Did I cook it too long?
Either way – amazing and a HUGE hit!
Jessica says
Nougat is chewy…not excessively chewy though.
Kathy says
I can’t find the marshmallow cream jar, could I melt marshmallows and use that?
Nellie says
I’ve never tried that, but I’m not sure it will be the same consistency. Let us know if you experiment!