These caramel shortbread bars are rich in flavor and oh so soft in texture. They have a shortbread cookie base with a caramel sauce and a shortbread crumble on top. They are absolutely divine. A perfect bar to make for a picnic or family gathering.
The motivation...
These bars are inspired by a cloudy kitchen recipe called Tan Bars. Cloudy Kitchen is a new blogger I have found and I am loving her beautiful treats. This recipe is similar to a classic New Zealand dessert called Tan Bars. You can tell they get their name from the beautiful tan coloring that forms from the caramel sauce.
I was looking for a lighter dessert bar that was still filled with flavor. I also enjoy making desserts from different countries. The shortbread crust is buttery, light, and so soft and the caramel sauce is rich and sweet on top. It is the perfect flavor combination. These bars travel well and store for a few days so they were an easy treat to share with friends.
The baking process...
The first part of making these bars is to make the shortbread cookie base. This step is a basic shortbread cookie recipe with butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Once you make the dough you will reserve a portion of it to make the crumble topping.
The more complicated step is making the caramel sauce because you have to be careful not to burn the butter. I used my classic caramel sauce recipe which is sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt. I like to add salt to my caramel sauce and usually a good amount because I love the balance of sweet and salty. The caramel sauce turns into this beautiful brown tan color that makes these bars look amazing and taste absolutely delicious!
Once you have made the shortbread dough and caramel sauce, it is all about assembly. You form a shortbread cookie base, with caramel sauce on top, and then add the extra shortbread cookie dough as a crumble as the final step to form the beautiful and classic look of these shortbread caramel bars.
These bars are so delicious...
I can't even describe how delicious these caramel shortbread bars are. I was so surprised when these bars came out and how tasty they were. The flavors are bold and addicting with a soft cookie base. These bars are definitely going to become a go-to dessert to make for friends and family. I gave these to my fiance to bring to work and all his coworkers loved these bars.
Just look at sweet caramel sauce dripping out of the sides of that soft crust. You have to try these bars! They are absolutely amazing!
A few tips:
Storage - store these cut into pieces in an airtight container for 3 days.
Caramel sauce - there are many variations of caramel sauce and you can use any recipe you want to add on top of these bars.
Cinnamon - I love adding spices to a simple cookie base because it adds an extra bit of flavor to the cookie. You can leave this out or add extra spices if you prefer.
Slicing into bars - make sure to slice the bars after 5-10 minutes of cooling because this will make it easier to slice before the caramel solidifies. Also, you can slice off the extra dark edges if you want a cleaner look.
Caramel Shortbread Bars
Serving size: 12 bars
Total Time: 1 hour
Source: Adapted from cloud kitchen
Shortbread base:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt or sea salt
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper or grease the pan to make it nonstick.
Step 2: Using a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment. Cream for about 3 minutes or until the sugar and butter are fully incorporated.
Step 3: Fold in the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Mix until just combined. Set aside 3/4 cup of the shortbread base in a bowl to be used for the crumble top for later.
Step 4: Add the shortbread cookie layer to the bottom of the baking pan and spread out with your hands to cover the whole base. Place the baking pan in the fridge while you make the caramel sauce.
Step 5: In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar on medium-high heat until the sugar has melted completely. The sugar crystals will form into clumps but they will melt eventually. It takes about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the sugar so watch the pot carefully. You will notice the melted sugar will turn a light golden brown.
Step 5: Once the sugar has melted, remove it from heat and add the butter. The mixture should bubble up. Then, pour in the heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt or sea salt. Stir the mixture until everything is combined. Taste to make sure it has the perfect balance of sweet to saltiness. The sea salt will make the caramel taste extra salty.
Step 6: Take the shortbread out of the refrigerator and pour the caramel sauce on top. Spread the caramel sauce with a knife or offset spatula until smooth. Take the remainder of the shortbread dough that was set aside and sprinkle the shortbread dough on top. It should like tiny chunks spread throughout the caramel topping.
Step 7: Bake for 25 minutes or until the bars have turned a dark golden brown. You will notice the crumble topping will be lightly golden on top. Remove from the oven and let it cool before slicing. I cooled the bars for 20 minutes before slicing. You can sprinkle extra sea salt on top for extra saltiness. Slice and enjoy!
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