Twix

The original Twix® bar was invented in 1967 by Forrest Mars Sr and the Mars company. Initially sold in the UK under a different name (Raider), Twix® cookie bars weren't available to American consumers until 1979. Until just a few years ago, all Twix® bars produced for North American markets were made in Cleveland, Tennessee. In 2017, the company announced the addition of a Twix® line at the Mars facility in Topeka, Kansas to help the company keep up with consumer demand.

The original Twix® cookie bar has three layers, a crisp shortbread cookie, chewy caramel and a generous coating of chocolate. Although Twix® bars are popular with many vegetarians because they're made without eggs, Twix® cookie bars are not vegan. While looking at the list of ingredients, you'll see that Twix® cookie bars are made with skim milk, milk solids and milk fat. You might also notice that Mars makes Twix® cookie bars with palm oil. Although palm oil is not an animal product, many vegans avoid it because of environmental concerns related to palm oil production.

Twix® bars are made with milk chocolate, corn syrup, cocoa powder, baking soda and modified food starch. If you scan the list of ingredients too quickly, you might assume that Twix® cookie bars are gluten-free. They're not. The crunchy cookie layer is made with enriched wheat flour. If you need to (or want to) avoid gluten, you'll also want to avoid Twix® cookie bars. But the company does make several gluten-free treats, including some varieties of M&M®'s, Snickers® and Milky Way Midnight®. However, recipes can change, and cross-contamination with wheat or barley malt is possible, so be sure to consider your options carefully.

Some variations of the original Twix® bar are made with peanut butter. Although most Twix® cookie bars don't have an obvious layer of peanuts under the rich chocolate coating, the manufacturer clearly states that Twix® may contain peanuts. That warning is there because the company makes Twix®, Snickers® and Peanut M&M's® in the same facility. Anyone allergic to peanuts may need to avoid Twix® cookie bars because of the risk of cross-contamination during manufacturing process