Salted Caramel Butter Bars

"Saw this on Pinterest.com...sounds yummy!"
 
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Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
24
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ingredients

  • For the Crust

  • 1 lb salted butter, room temp (I used unsalted, it is what I buy)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 12 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • For the Filling

  • 1 (14 ounce) bag caramel candies, unwrapped (about 50 individual caramels)
  • 13 cup milk (I used cream) or 1/3 cup cream (I used cream)
  • 12 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (optional)
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directions

  • 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 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. Preheat to 325°F Bake 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 (I did the melting in a saucepan stovetop since I don't microwave). 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.

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Reviews

  1. These were soooo awesome!!! They are very rich, so I cut them into small bars. Everyone loved them and said they were the best things ever!!!
     
  2. I cut the recipe in half and bake them in a 9 inch square pan. I added 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans to the bottom layer which made them more substantial with a slight crunch. Also, nice contrast to all that butter and caramel. I did use a 11 ounce bag of Kraft caramel bits mixed with 1/4 cup of milk for the half recipe. I liked a thicker caramel middle.
     
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Tweaks

  1. 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans to half of the recipe volume. For full recipe, use 1/2 cup pecans.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

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