Take 5 Candy Bars are easy to make at home with only a few ingredients, now you can have that great chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, pretzel and peanut combo anytime!
Have you guys tried Take 5 bars before? I often forget about them, but really they are one of my favorite candy bars. They have the best combination of flavors – everything a candy bar could need.
I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, pretzels and peanuts? The smooth and creamy caramel and peanut butter, with the crunchy and salty pretzels and peanuts, all covered in chocolate. These might be the best candy bar invented.
And now you don’t even have to go to the store to buy them (plus they are sometimes harder to find now too) you can just make them at home! (Though you may need to run to the store for the ingredients. But for the cost of just a few bars from the store you can make about 25 at home. Then you’ll just have to try not to eat them all at once!
So this recipe is pretty simple if you even consider it a recipe at all. Its basically just the 5 ingredients in a take 5 bar (chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, pretzel, and peanuts). However I added a couple things to make it easier to make and sweeter and in case you don’t just want to throw the 5 ingredients together, here are the amounts of everything I used.
Take 5 Bars - Copycat
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 TBS powdered sugar
- 20-25 pretzels
- 10 caramel squares
- 1 TBS milk
- 60-80 peanut halves (you can buy them already in half at some stores, or they're easy enough to break - or use whole ones just smaller whole peanuts, lightly salted)
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Lay pretzels out on waxed or parchment paper.
- Put peanut butter and powdered sugar in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well until creamy.
- Spread a small spoonful of peanut butter on the top of each pretzel, (maybe a teaspoon?)
- Put caramel squares and milk in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 15 seconds. Stir until creamy. (Make sure not to over heat your caramel, as it will cause it to turn burn a little and turn hard very quickly, and we want it to stay soft)
- Spread a small spoonful of caramel over the top of the peanut butter. (the same amount as the peanut butter.
- Stick 3-4 peanut halves on top of the caramel.
- Put in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, in a small bowl. Heat for 1 minute. Stir. Heat for another 20 seconds and stir until completely mixed.
- Dip each pretzel candy into the melted chocolate.(Warning: this was really messy for me) You might need to keep half in the freezer to keep the caramel hard while you're dipping the first half.
- Set on parchment or waxed paper.
- Let set for about 30 minutes at room temperature until chocolate is hardened.
First published on July 20, 2012. Photos Updated on March 24, 2015.
Enjoy these amazing copy cat take 5 bars!
Debra Nelson says
Could you use chunky peanut butter instead of peanuts?
Aimee says
It should be okay if needed
Bailey says
A new Christmas candy favorite! We used rolos and it was so easy! Pretzels first then rolos, in the oven for a bit and then topped with a peanut butter covered pretzel and then froze and dipped into chocolate!
Aimee says
That’s such a good shortcut. YUM!
Hannah says
Tried this today and they came out perfect! Take 5 is my favorite candy bar and since they switched to Reese’s they just haven’t been the same. Thanks for the recipe!
Aimee says
Yay! I’m so glad you loved them!!
Jesvon says
When covering them in chocolate, we found it very easy to fully cover them and not make a mess. Take the take 5 insides and dropping them in the chocolate container and flip the take 5 insides until completely covered. Then you can take a fork and scoop out the take 5. We found this very easy to do and very efficient. (Power couple) This recipe was very good and the treat was very delicious.
puppy says
i also had a problem with caramels using 40 cubes and only 2 TBSP milk. i didn’t use milk 2nd time because caramel is basically only sweetened condensed milk anyways..PERFECT!
Aimee says
Was your caramel to thin as well? I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re saying about the condensed milk? Condensed milk is much thinner than the caramel you’ll want for these??
Sandi says
I love making homemade candy like this. I can’t wait to give it a try this weekend!
Linda says
What size pretzels do I buy/
Aimee Berrett says
Get the mini pretzels that are wrapped/shaped like normal soft pretzels!
joseph reckelhoff says
To reply to previous reviews, as a ‘self proclaimed good scientist”..(hehe)…anyhow the beat pretzels to use are Snyders “snaps”. Try mixing caramel squares with 1/2 the amount of milk called for, with heavy cream. (If a fan of dark chocolate) use a finer dark chocolate, with a drop of coconut oil .MAGIC!
Marsha Joy Baker says
Sounds absolutely fabulous! Love Take 5’s…thanks so much for sharing this DIY! They look luscious.
Jena says
These are great. I made them once and I’m making them again now. I have problems with the caramel step, though. I spoon the caramel on top of the candies and it just flows right off and gets everywhere. I’ve tried cooling the caramel sauce for a few minutes to make it firmer, but it still doesn’t stay on top. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Aimee Berrett says
I’m not totally sure! Does your caramel turn super hard right in the chocolates or does it stay a little bit soft? I think I had a little bit running off, but it was thick enough to have most of it stay put. My only guess is if yours gets really hard in the candies then it might be over heated in the microwave…? Or, maybe try using less milk with the caramels too?
Jena says
No, the caramel never turns hard. It’s always pretty runny and doesn’t stay on the candies.
I’ll try less milk next time.
Thanks!
Danette Grant says
60 peanut halves? Does anyone know a more sensible way to measure the peanuts? Lol
Aimee Berrett says
I’m not sure how many it is, and you might not make the whole recipes worth, but if you look you use 3 peanut halves per “bar” so you’ll need to cut them each up into halves anyway
Aimee Berrett says
And, I would recommend just buying a small can or bag of peanuts and that should be enough – and then you can probably put 3-5 peanut halves per candy piece.
Ruth in OZ says
A little query from down under – can you show a pic at all of the caramel squares, as I try and work out what they are here. everything else I have covered it is the caramel squares that have me a little confused. are they are a bar found in the confectionary aisle of the supermarket?
Aimee Berrett says
Oh sorry, I don’t have any home now to take a picture. Here is a picture of what they look like. I hope you can find something similar! http://www.candywarehouse.com/assets/item/large/image-125988.jpg
Deb says
Wow! Decadent! Can’t wait to make it for my family! –Deb (DialMforMoms.com)
Marlys @Thisand That says
YUM! These look delicious. I am pinning them so that I have the recipe. Came by from Food Holiday Link Party
amy moore says
Yum! I’ll have to give these a try!
aimeeberrett says
Please try them! They are so yummy, and pretty simple too. Definitely one of my favorite “recipes”
Sarah Averett says
Yum!!! I love Take Fives. Caramel, chocolate, and pretzels are PERFECT combo in my opinion. I’ll have to try it out and feature it on my blog and when I do, I’ll be sure to refer back to you 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
aimeeberrett says
Thanks Sarah! Hope you make these and love them. I’ve made them twice now and they are so addicting!