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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Homemade Take 5 Bites (+ Video)

    October 20, 2023 By Brandy 2 Comments

    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    If you like the sweet, salty, and crunchiness of Take 5 candy bars, you'll love our homemade Take 5 bites. They are delicious!

    You might also like our Twix bites, our York bites, or our Reese's bites!

    take 5 bites

    Watch our step by step video!

    bowl of take 5 bites

    Take 5 Bites

    If you're reading this post, chances are you are already a fan of Take 5 candy bars. I even made an English toffee version a few years ago! The 5 main components are pretzels, peanuts, peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate. The combination is the perfect blend of sweet and salty.

    hand holding take 5 candy bar bite cut in half

    My homemade version includes the same ingredients. I use the same peanut butter filling that I use for my copycat Reese's Peanut Butter Ghosts.  They are the perfect bite-sized treat and a wonderful addition to holiday treat platters.

    container of peanut butter, bowls of powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and caramel, bowl of pretzels and stick of butter.

    Take 5 Bites Ingredients

    This recipe makes 48 bites.

    Pretzels: My favorite pretzels to use are snaps. They are square in shape and easy to stack with caramel and peanut butter filling.

    The next 4 ingredients are mixed together to form a soft peanut butter filling.

    Crunchy peanut butter: instead of using creamy peanut butter and peanuts I simplified things and used crunchy peanut butter.

    Butter: I always use salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you'd like.

    Powdered Sugar: powdered sugar helps bind the filling, making it easy to form into small portions.

    Milk: To add a bit of moisture to the filling.

    Caramel Candy: I use Brach's caramels (the square ones) and cut them into quarters.

    Chocolate almond bark or milk chocolate chips: I find that almond bark is the easiest to melt down for dipping, but you can also use milk chocolate chips with a tablespoon of coconut oil to smooth it out. Take 5 candy bars are made with milk chocolate, but you can make these bites with any kind of chocolate you like. I always use more chocolate than needed. I hate when I get down to the last part and am scraping to cover the treats in chocolate. For this reason, I'll usually add a couple extra ounces.

    take 5 pretzel candy bites

    How to Make Take 5 Candy Bar Bites

    Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

    First ½ of Pretzels: Place 48 pretzels (half of the pretzels) onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

    Peanut butter dough: Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and crunchy peanut butter in a mixing bowl. You can use a Danish dough whisk or electric mixer. Mix until a soft dough forms. If your dough feels a little dry you can add an additional teaspoon of milk. Cover with plastic, to prevent the filling from drying out and set aside.

    caramel candy cut into quarters

    Caramels: cut each caramel candy into 4 sections. Place one piece of caramel onto each pretzel. Bake for 5-6 minutes.

    pretzels with peanut butter filling on top.

    Second ½ of Pretzels: While the pretzels with caramel are in the oven, arrange the rest of the pretzels onto a cutting board or work surface. Roll the peanut butter filling into small balls and divide it amongst the pretzels, pressing down slightly.

    hand pressing second pretzel onto take 5 bites.

    Making Sandwiches: Remove the caramel pretzels from the oven and press each peanut butter pretzel onto a caramel pretzel. Press down to flatten it into a sandwich.

    take 5 bites before being dipped into chocolate.

    Cooling: Let the Take 5 bites stand until the caramel is at room temperature.

    Melt chocolate: Melt the chocolate according to the package instructions or in a double boiler.

    Note: if using chocolate chips, and you find that it hasn't melted down thin enough for dipping, you can add a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil or shortening then stir into the warm chocolate.

    take 5 bite dipped in chocolate

    Dip: Dip each Take 5 bites into chocolate, using a fork. Cover both sizes then tap the fork against the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.

    take 5 bites dipped in chocolate and on parchment covered baking sheet.

    Cool: Place the bites onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand until hardened.

    3 take 5 candy bar bites stacked

    Homemade Take 5 Bites

    (printable version)

    bowl of take 5 candy bites

    Take 5 Bites

    If you like the sweet, salty, and crunchiness of Take 5 candy bars, you'll love our homemade Take 5 bites. They are delicious!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cooling: 45 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 48 bites
    Calories: 100kcal

    Ingredients

    • 96 mini pretzel snaps divided
    • ⅓ cup crunchy peanut butter
    • 2 Tbsp. butter
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 3-4 teaspoons milk
    • 12 soft caramel candies (Brach's brand)
    • 24 ounces milk chocolate chips or almond bark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
      Place 48 pretzels (half of the pretzels) onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

    Peanut Butter Filling

    • Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and crunchy peanut butter in a mixing bowl. You can use a Danish dough whisk or electric mixer. Mix until a soft dough forms. If your dough feels a little dry you can add an additional teaspoon of milk. Cover with plastic, to prevent the filling from drying out and set aside.
    • Unwrap and cut each piece of caramel candy into 4 sections. Place one piece of caramel onto each pretzel. Bake for 5-6 minutes.

    Caramel

    • While the caramel pretzels are in the oven, arrange the rest of the pretzels onto a cutting board or work surface. Roll the peanut butter filling into SMALL balls and divide it amongst the pretzels, pressing down slightly.
    • Remove the caramel pretzels from the oven.
      Press each peanut butter pretzel onto a caramel pretzel. Press down to flatten it into a sandwich.
    • Let the Take 5 bites stand until the caramel is at room temperature.

    Chocolate

    • Melt the chocolate according to the package instructions, or in a double boiler.
      Note: if using chocolate chips, and you find that it hasn't melted down thin enough for dipping, you can add a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil or shortening then stir into the warm chocolate.
    • Dip each Take 5 bites into chocolate, using a fork. Cover both sizes then tap the fork against the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
    • Place the bites onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand until hardened.

    Notes

    Store Take 5 bites in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 100kcal

     

     

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    About Brandy

    Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

    Comments

    1. Beth says

      January 29, 2024 at 11:46 pm

      What temp to bake caramel and pretzels at? Recipe doesn't state temp. Thanks

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        January 30, 2024 at 12:20 pm

        Hi! 250 degrees. It was up further in the post but I didn’t put it in the recipe o card at the bottom of the post! I’ll edit to fox that, thanks!

        Reply
    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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