best cookie bars | EASYBAKED

Caramel Shortbread Bars

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Ruthanne

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!!!