recipe: salted caramel & chocolate shortbread bars

These bars are so easy to make & they taste like a candy bar, but even better!! :)

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Shortbread Bars

Ingredients for the crust…

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Ingredients for the caramel layer…

10 oz plastic wrapped caramels, unwrapped and chopped (I used Kraft)

2 tbsp heavy cream

1 teaspoon sea salt

Ingredients for chocolate layer…

12 oz bag of Wilton’s Dark Chocolate Melts

(You can buy them at Joann’s or Walmart)

To make the bars…

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Spray a 15 x 10″ glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cream the soft butter with the granulated sugar and the powdered sugar until fluffy. 

Then, add the vanilla and salt. Mix in the flour until you have a soft dough then press 

dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Prick holes all over the dough using a fork 

then bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow the crust to cool while you make the caramel layer...Melt together the chopped 

caramels with the cream & sea salt in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. 

Once melted completely, pour caramel over cookie crust, smoothing with a rubber spatula 

& set aside.

Melt the Wilton’s chocolate melts in the microwave for one minute. Stir the half-melted 

chocolate & then microwave it 30 seconds at a time, until it is fully melted.  Pour the melted 

chocolate over the caramel layer & smooth it out with a spatula.

 Sprinkle sea salt over the top, if you’d like. Then, refrigerate it for an hour to cool 

completely before slicing.

To cut the cookie bars, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen & remove the entire 

“cookie bar” from the pan. Place it on a large cutting board & using a hot knife (keep the knife 

in a cup of hot water), cut it into bars. 

The bars are best served at room temperature. 

Yumm!!