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Christmas Bar Cookies good for gift giving: Salted caramel Shortbread
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Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars

These decadent bars are a fun twist on the classic millionaire's shortbread. They whip up in no time! A soft delicate shortbread base is topped with ooey gooey caramel and melted chocolate with a light dusting of sea salt.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, British
Keyword: caramel chocolate dessert, chocolate caramel bars, chocolate caramel cookie bars, cookies, shortbread
Servings: 12
Calories: 481kcal
Cost: $5

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Crust:

  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ cup margarine chilled

For the Homemade Caramel Layer:

  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • cup margarine

For the chocolate topping:

  • 11.5-12 oz semi sweet Chocolate Chip morsels
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

To make the shortbread base:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and both sugars. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until a nice crumble is made. Use a light hand and try not to overwork your dough.
  • Press firmly into a 9x13 baking pan and set aside while you make the caramel sauce.
  • For the homemade caramel sauce:
  • Place the sugar and the margarine in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins boiling.
  • Once it reaches a boil, allow to boil at a heavy rolling boil for 1 minute. Remove from stove and pour over crust in baking pan.
  • Place the shortbread crust with caramel in the middle rack of your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 
  • You will see the caramel bubbling. Don’t allow the shortbread to get brown and crunchy, you want it moist and fluffy.
  • Once you pull your dish out of the oven, place on a cooling rack and immediatly move onto the next step:
  • Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of your hot shortbread. Allow the chips to melt and after about 2 minutes spread evenly over the crust mixture.
  • If the chocolate will not spread, you can place back in the oven for about 30 seconds if need be.
  • Sprinkle the sea salt evenly on top once all the chocolate is situated.
  • After about 10 minutes, carefully slice the bars into the size you would like. It is best to score them and get them pre-sliced before they cool. They will harden as they set, and cutting then can be an issue.
  • Allow to cool and enjoy!

Notes

You can substitute any chocolate you would like. Feel free to use bitter or milk. You can use bars that are chopped, or even chunks. They just might not melt as fast. The chocolate chips are so easy to spread on top!

Nutrition

Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 410mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 803IU | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg