Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Salted Caramel is the “new” everything in the world of sweets it seems. I was looking for something new to make and decided to give it a whirl. These seemed easiest enough and if you like sweet and salty then you are going to LOVE these. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crust:

- 1 lb salted butter, room temp

- 2 Tbsp vanilla

- 1 cup sugar

-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

- 4 cups flour

Filling:
- 1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels), unwrapped

- 1/3 cup milk or cream

- ½ teaspoon vanilla

- 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt (optional)

 

Directions:

Crust:

1. In mixer, beat butter and sugars until creamy.

2. Add vanilla, mix well. combined. 

3. Sift flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

4. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Place the rest of the dough in fridge.

5. Bake at 325 until edges are a pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool about 15 minutes.

Filling:

1. Place the unwrapped caramels, cream, and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. 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.

Final Assembly:

1. Pour the caramel filling over the crust. 

2. If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.

3. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

4. 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.

5. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- My dough never really got stiff—I think because I didn’t want to go to the store and buy butter. I used margarine instead and while the consistency wasn’t quite right, it baked up and tasted great.

- I only had EXTRA course sea salt… it was a bit salty if you got too much in one bite. Next time I will put it in a ziploc and give it a good whack or two with the meat mallet to make it a bit more fine.

***Recipe found at: www.cookiesandcups.com**