Caramel Shortbread Bars

I was introduced to the buttery flaky happiness of shortbread cookies last fall, and I promised myself that I would return to them in a new recipe. Instead of baking them in cookie form, I baked these in a pan and then covered them with dulce de leche caramel and a chocolate glaze. They are AMAZINGLY good. Really. That good. Look at the pictures…. they are THAT GOOD.

You can make your own dulce de leche using a can of sweetened condensed milk (here’s my recipe for that)- or you can just buy a couple cans of it. I always find it in the Hispanic food section of my local grocery (they have it at WalMart there too). I bought cans for this creation- easy and sooooooo yummy.

Here’s how we made these! (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

Cookie base:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder

Toppings:

• 2 cans (13.4 oz. each) of dulce de leche I used La Lechera by Nestle
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips
• 6 Tablespoons of butter

DIRECTIONS:

• Place 1 cup of unsalted butter and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and using a mixer, beat until light and fluffy (think buttercream frosting…!)
• Add vanilla and mix until well combined.
• Add flour and baking powder to butter/sugar mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated well (don’t over-beat this).
• Press into a standard 9×13″ cake pan that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350F degrees for 12-15 minutes until slightly browned on top and firm at center.
• Cool completely.
• Pour cans of caramel over the top and smooth.
• Melt chocolate chips with 6 Tablespoons of butter. Stir to mix well and pour over top of caramel layer. Smooth top.
• Before top hardens, if desired, drizzle with white chocolate and pull lines back and forth with a toothpick to make design shown.
• Chill for at least an hour before cutting.
• Enjoy!!

My thoughts: YUM!!!  I love shortbread, I love caramel, and I love chocolate! These are fabulous cookie bars! 🙂 Be sure to use dark chocolate chips to keep the “sweet” factor down. If you want just a touch of caramel, use one can of La Lechera instead of two. I wanted a big layer of caramel in my cookies- but you might want more cookie and less topping. I hope you get a chance to try these!!!  ~Enjoy!!! 

Other caramel deliciousness here: (click on a photo to see the recipe)