Snickers Chocolate Caramel Tart

If Snickers is your favorite candy, this recipe is for you! A buttery shortbread tart crust is filled with homemade salted peanut caramel and topped with rich chocolate ganache. It’s like one mega Snickers, basically making it Halloween candy for adults. This caramel tart is also surprisingly easy to make but looks and tastes amazing!

Tips for making a shortbread cookie crust

The base of this tart is a buttery shortbread crust that is SO easy to make. Here are a few things to keep in mind while prepping the dough:

1. Measure the flour properly – To prevent the dough from turning dry and crumbly, measure your flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off with a flat edge. Never scoop directly into the flour bag or container as this compacts the flour, leaving you with way too much. If the dough is very dry and crumbly after adding the wet ingredients, this is likely why.
2. Work in the butter – Use your fingers to press the butter into the dry ingredients. For pie dough, you typically want to leave pie-sized lumps to get a flaky texture. But for shortbread, you want the butter to be in uniform rice-sized pieces to achieve a crust that’s buttery but firm.
3. The wet ingredients – Mix together the vanilla and cream before adding it to the dough. If you mix in the two separately, the vanilla won’t get evenly dispersed so you’ll be left with pockets of strong vanilla flavor.
4. Mixing – When all of the ingredients are in the bowl, it may seem too dry and crumbly at first. But keep mixing and it will eventually come together in a loose ball with some crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. To test if it’s ready, it should hold together when you press the dough between your fingers. If it’s still too dry, add another tablespoon of cream.

Once it’s ready, press the dough into your tart pan and chill it for 20 minutes. This allows the butter to firm up which allows the crust to hold its shape once baked.

How to make salted peanut caramel

The shining star of this recipe is the salted peanut caramel. It’s rich, gooey, and tastes way better then Snickers caramel! It’s also surprisingly easy to make, as long as you follow these simple steps:

1. Don’t touch the sugar – Once you add the sugar to your saucepan, just let it sit and melt. Don’t use any sort of utensil as this may cause the sugar to clump up as it melts. If at any time you need to disperse some of the sugar, give the pan a gently shake. Otherwise, just watch it melt into a rich amber color.
2. The cream – Make sure to mix in HOT cream. If you mix cold cream into hot sugar, it will cause the sugar to harden and seize up. Heat the cream right before mixing it in. For best results, slowly pour it in as you mix.
3. Be careful! – Once the cream is poured in, the caramel will steam and sputter. Don’t stand over the pot as the steam will be hot. Stand close enough to where you are able to mix, but the steam only lasts a couple seconds.

Once the cream is mixed in, add the butter and salt. Once smooth, fold in the chopped peanuts. If you have a peanut allergy, you are more than welcome to leave out the peanuts. Doing so will quickly change this Snickers tart into a Twix tart!

What if I only have unsalted peanuts?

To use unsalted peanuts, add an additional 1/4 tsp of salt to the caramel.

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Assemble & chill

After the peanut caramel is poured into the baked shortbread shell, freeze the tart to allow the caramel to set. If you apply the chocolate layer on top of the liquid caramel, the chocolate will sink right in and you won’t get those distinct layers.

To tell if the caramel is ready, first look at the color. In the two pictures below, the first is right when the caramel is poured in. It’s dark and somewhat translucent. In the second photo, the tart had been freezing for about 30-45 minutes. It is now lighter in color and bit more opaque. Gently press your finger into the surface. If the caramel doesn’t stick to you, or if it leaves a very tiny imprint of your finger, it’s ready for the chocolate layer.

Spread the chocolate in an even layer on top of the caramel. It will be the consistency of pudding, so use a spoon or offset spatula to push it out towards the edges.

While the chocolate is still soft, press the toppings into the surface. I used Fun Size Snickers chopped into thirds as well as additional salted peanuts.

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Different ways to serve your Snickers tart

Once the tart is assembled, there are a couple different routes you can go. First, if you want the caramel to be more soft and gooey like the photos shown here, freeze the tart for about 1 hour. This will allow it to set, but not all the way through.

If you prefer a more firm caramel, freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight. The caramel will be tender and chewy, not hard or tacky.

How to store leftovers

There are a couple different ways to approach this as well. Again, if you like a soft center, store the tart in an air tight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 10 days.

If you like a firm caramel, keep the tart in the freezer. You can place it on a plate and wrap it in foil as this will hold up better in the freezer. Just make sure to slice it before freezing, otherwise it will be difficult to slice once frozen. This is the route we went and my fiance would grab a slice every night after dinner because he LOVES Snickers. It will also keep longer with this option, up to 3 weeks.

For more caramel recipes, check out my:

• Caramel Apple Muffins
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake
• Caramel Coconut Cream Pie
• Caramel Filled Nutella Truffles

Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and comment below if you make this Snickers Tart. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!

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