Easy and delicious salted caramel butter bars recipe.
- Carbohydrate 71.4860651334833 g
- Cholesterol 87.8779912823418 mg
- Fat 33.458912629177 g
- Fiber 2.01600003730807 g
- Protein 8.56321493452425 g
- Saturated Fat 20.8139211073046 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (158g)
- Sodium 5459.02481903026 mg
- Sugar 69.4700650961752 g
- Trans Fat 2.49480956005103 g
- Calories 620 calories
Step-by-step
- To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325° In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars.
- Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy.
- Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
- Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
- Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust.
- Wrap remaining dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
- Bake crust until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown approx 20 minutes.
- Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.
- While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling.
- Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Add the cream.
- Microwave on high for 1 minute.
- Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth.
- If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
- Once the caramel is melted add in your 1/2 tsp vanilla and stir until combined.
- Pour the caramel filling over the crust.
- If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.
- Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 - 30 minutes.
- Let cool before cutting into squares.
Standard shortbread relies on a high ratio of fat to flour to achieve its characteristic crumbly texture, but this recipe introduces a dense layer of melted sugar and dairy to create a contrasting chewy interior. Cream added to commercial caramels lowers the viscosity of the molten sucrose, preventing it from hardening into a brittle pane upon cooling. This thermal manipulation keeps the filling soft enough to bite through while suspended between two layers of baked dough. High butter content in the flour mixture saturates the gluten strands, inhibiting extensive protein network formation and yielding a tender, sandy crumb rather than a bread-like chew. Baking the initial base at 325 degrees Fahrenheit drives off excess moisture slowly, setting the starches before the butter melts completely and spreads the pan. Coarse sea salt sprinkled directly onto the warm caramel draws moisture from the surface through osmosis, creating localized salinity pockets that counteract the cloying sweetness of the concentrated sugars. Chilling the reserved dough fraction prior to crumbling ensures the butter droplets inside the pieces remain solid until they hit the oven heat, generating steam pockets that puff the topping into distinct, crunchy clusters. Allowing the completed slab to cool fully permits the milk fats to recrystallize fully, anchoring the gooey center so individual squares hold clean structural edges when sliced.
